


Gentleman No Longer

by Digitallace



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M, Werewolf Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-03
Updated: 2013-03-22
Packaged: 2017-12-04 05:12:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/706946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Digitallace/pseuds/Digitallace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to Gentleman Pervert. Can Draco cope with the changes in his relationship with Harry when it's no longer just the two of them isolated from the world?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note: As some of my most loyal readers have noticed, I haven't posted anything in a while. I have been writing (I promise) I just haven't been finishing as much as I used to. However, this is a story that's been a long time coming. I've missed all my readers and I've missed having a complete story to post for my favorite pairing. I hope you're all as excited to read it as I was to write it. Thanks have to be given to my enormously helpful Beta. Deb is the voice of Harry I needed in this story, since it is all from Draco's POV. This story will be 5 parts.

Draco took a deep breath and let it out until his lungs felt empty and screamed for air. He could do this. It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. Okay, it probably would be, but Harry would be by his side and together they could do anything. He groaned at his own thoughts as he stared at the cherry red train engine as it barreled toward the platform. Draco sounded like a simpering Hufflepuff. He'd have to find some special way to pay Harry back for turning him into the exact kind of overly romantic git he'd always hated.

He felt a familiar hand on the small of his back and all thoughts of revenge quickly fled Draco's mind. "I can't do it," Draco whispered. They stood away from the rest, twin shadows at the edge of the platform, watching as more witches and wizards gathered and chattered and squawked. He wished they'd come beneath the invisibility cloak like Harry had suggested, but lurking in the dark corners of the world was the next best thing.

Draco Malfoy was good at lurking.

"Then let's go back to Grimmauld Place," Harry suggested. His face was a bit pale, a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead, making his scar glisten vividly against his skin. Draco loved that scar. For the first time since their Hogwarts letters came in the post a few weeks ago, Draco realized that Harry must be dreading the return to the school as much as he was.

He looked at Harry closely, reaching up to tuck a lock of ebony hair behind his ear. Harry flinched. Not much, not even something that a person without intimate knowledge of Harry, or the heightened senses of a werewolf would likely notice, but Draco had all of those things, and he did notice. It was just enough to make his heart stutter unpleasantly. Harry had never seemed to mind public displays of affection with his past girlfriends, but with Draco, he tended to shy away. Draco noticed more and more of those flinches and twitches and distant looks from his boyfriend over the past week. Draco might have been able to overlook the slights - they were, after all, a controversial couple at best - except they were accompanied by other odd behaviors that gave him pause.

They'd been good for a long time at Grimmauld Place. Practically inseparable. Even when they'd had to host the Order, Harry had always taken every moment he could to be with Draco. They always ate together, shared a bed and spent the endless free hours in each other's company. In the evenings he would tell stories about wizarding history as Harry listened in rapt attention, his head resting contentedly in Draco's lap. In the mornings they would wake each other up with mouths and tongues and writhing bodies. In the afternoons they'd play Quidditch and Wizarding Chess and sometimes Draco would even let Harry win.

But lately Draco felt a distance begin to grow between them. Sometimes Harry wasn't in bed when Draco woke up. Some afternoons Harry said he felt too ill to go outside, and he didn't have the patience for Wizarding Chess. In the evenings he'd started going to bed and leaving Draco alone in the study, pouring over books about Wizarding ailments, wondering if there was some potions he could brew that would make Harry feel better.

At first he'd suspected the worst. He thought he'd infected his poor trusting boyfriend with his filthy lupine disease. He'd even gone so far as to summon Remus to the house a few days before they were due back at school. Draco had explained what he knew of Harry's symptoms. Besides the fever, it wasn't really at all what Draco had experienced with the infection, but Remus had agreed that something needed to be done and he'd disappeared into Harry's room for what seemed like hours. When he'd emerged again, Draco pressed him for answers, but Remus would only shake his head and assure him that Harry would be well again soon, that he would be fine.

But Harry wasn't fine.

Perhaps it was time to consider the most obvious answer - Harry was falling out of love with him. He gave a soft sigh, trying to pull his attention back to the moment. "Is that really what you want?" Draco asked, still watching Harry with active interest.

Harry frowned, shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Want? Sure. Doesn't mean I can actually go through with it," he pointed out with a bitter sigh.

Draco nodded curtly and tried to hide his disappointment. "McGonagall is going to lynch me on sight."

A small grin tugged at the corner of Harry's mouth. "She wouldn't do that….," he murmured, seeming to think for a moment. "Actually….Maybe you should steer clear of her."

"Thanks," Draco muttered with a roll of his eyes.

"Just looking out for the safety of my boyfriend," Harry pointed out with a smile. The word, as always, gave Draco an involuntary grin.

"Is that okay to say in public?" he asked, half teasing, half serious. They hadn't talked about it much, but it seemed to Draco like a very touchy subject. Draco himself didn't have much to lose by professing his love for the Chosen One. Harry, on the other hand….

"I don't know. What do you think?" Harry asked, verdant eyes glittering with warmth.

"I think…maybe…we should wait," Draco offered, secretly hoping Harry would object. "I don't need to bring down the wrath of Weasley and McGonagall on my pretty head all at once. I might not survive."

"You know I don't care what anyone thinks, right?" Harry said, but Draco could see the lie in Harry's eyes. He didn't want to care, but he did. He couldn't help it. Harry, who had never really had a family, had finally found people who loved and accepted him and deep down, Draco knew Harry wouldn't want to botch that. Telling friends and family that you were in love was difficult and unpredictable. Telling them you were in love with a boy, who was also a former Death Eater and current Werewolf tended to make such admissions nearly impossible.

Draco leaned in and kissed Harry's forehead lightly. "We can tell them when you're ready. When it feels right. No pressure." He forced a smile as he turned back to the Hogwarts Express. When the time was right, he would shout his love out to the world. Draco never thought he could ever feel the way that Harry made him feel. He didn't think he would ever experience the kind of love that Harry showed him. It stung that they would have to hide it, but he didn't have as much to sacrifice as Harry did.

In fact, Draco had nothing to lose whatsoever.

Harry seemed to catch the look in Draco's eyes, because his hand seemed to press more firmly into Draco's back until he heard the unmistakable Weasley 'Oi' of greeting. His boyfriend leapt away as if fire had sprouted between them, the gesture like a punch to Draco's gut. Weasley strode over to them with Granger in tow. They both stared at Draco with curious, skeptical eyes. They knew through Remus that Draco had been staying with Harry and through Harry himself from several letters that the two weren't trying to murder one another, but it seemed like Granger was searching her friend for injuries all the same.

"I see the ferret is joining us," Weasley snipped, eyes narrowed. "I thought you'd be happy to be rid of him at last, Harry." Such a thing might have baited Draco several months ago, but not now. He'd experienced too much to let some obnoxious words raise his ire.

Harry rolled his eyes. "I told you to be nice, Ron, and don't call him that. Draco and I are friends now. I have no intention of getting rid of him."

When Ron looked as though he might argue, Draco interjected. "Good to see you too, Weasley. Granger," he greeted civilly, tipping his head slightly.

They both seemed to wait with baited breath, sure there would be something snide to follow, but when there wasn't, they turned their attention back to their friend. "What's the plan this year, Harry?" Hermione asked, clutching a stack of books Draco presumed she couldn't bear to part with on the journey. "Did you get all of your supplies? Have you been eating well? You look peaked, Harry. Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine," Harry muttered, brushing her mothering hand away as she tried to feel his forehead. "I think I might have a bit of a cold or something."

"You should take a Pepper-Up potion," She replied definitively and glanced over at Draco. He thought he saw judgment there, as if it were his fault that Harry was sick and hadn't done anything about it. He decided not to point out that he'd made Harry take several, to no avail.

"Remus gave me something," Harry replied evasively, giving a shrug and that seemed to be good enough for the others. It was the first Draco had heard of it though. He supposed he should have assumed that Lupin had given Harry something help him, but Harry had never mentioned it and Draco had never seen him taking anything.

Draco turned away, back toward the train, letting the Golden Trio catch up. He heard snippets of their conversation. Granger did most of the talking, Weasley would make a joke here and there and Harry would only interject occasionally or snort when he was particularly amused. It was a banter that Draco felt very apart from and he knew it would be a very long ride to Hogwarts.

He wished that he and Harry could get their own compartment, but he knew that would draw attention. Besides, Harry hadn't seen his mates in weeks and Draco was sure he wanted the time with them.

As the conductor announced they could board, the four of them slowly ambled up the platform and through the passenger cars, stopping when they found a spot that would hold them all. He missed the large Slytherin carriage, or what they'd claimed as theirs, where twenty or so would lounge in a car and chat amicably about their summers and brag about which father bought the most extravagant gifts that year. He wagered that car was just about empty this trip. Or worse, filled with Hufflepuffs.

Draco shuddered.

So many students were being held from Hogwarts this year, but the majority of those were Slytherins. Either sent to one of the rivaling schools, kept at home, or traveling with their families, none of Draco's friends would be attending their final year here. It would be excruciatingly lonely at the castle, especially in the Slytherin dorms. But, at least Draco had Harry.

Who was currently staring out the window and paying him no attention whatsoever.

With a soft sigh, Draco rolled up his robes and propped them behind his head like a pillow. Granger and Weasley were unabashedly flirting, so to avoid getting ill, Draco decided to sleep. Maybe the ride to Hogwarts wouldn't be so bad after all.

(+)(+)(+)(+)(+)

Draco woke up to a pair of big brown eyes staring at him from far too close. He jumped and nearly cracked his skull against Hermione's. "Granger? Creepy much?" he muttered, running a hand through his hair, trying to recall the dream he'd been having. It was delicious, as his dreams about Harry always were.

"Sorry." She didn't look sorry at all. She slid back into the bench across from him and he blinked at her and glanced around. It was dark outside and they were the only ones in the compartment. Maybe even the whole train. It managed to amp the creep factor up a notch or two.

"Granger…what's going on? Where's Harry?" he asked, trying not to feel panicked. He knew there was no real reason for it. If she meant him harm, she could have just hexed him while he was asleep. Besides, she might be keen with a wand, but Draco was a werewolf now. She couldn't do any real damage to him even if she wanted to.

"Harry," she said, pausing on the name and staring at him curiously, "Is with Ron. They're probably halfway to the castle by now."

Draco shook his head. Maybe Looney Lovegood had a point about those Wrackspurts she was always going on about. He was feeling terribly confused. "Why aren't you with them?" Draco wanted to ask her how Harry could leave him alone there on the train, but he didn't think she'd answer him and he certainly didn't want to seem as attached at the hip to Harry as he actually was.

She seemed to sense his concern and tilted her head curiously. "Harry looked like he was going to retch the moment we pulled into the station. So, Ron took him to the nurse and I promised to stay and wake you up," she explained simply before leveling him with a glare he could only compare to McGonagall's scrutiny of student running through the halls. "I want to know what's going on with Harry."

"Maybe you should ask Harry?" he offered unhelpfully. He was starting to feel an overwhelming sense of discomfort. She wasn't the only one who wanted to know. So did Draco. He'd been worried about it for days.

"I did. He said nothing is going on in the way he always says things are nothing when they are definitely something," she chimed, still staring at him.

"How am I supposed to know?" Draco sighed.

Hermione studied him, her lips making funny little thoughtful pursing gestures as she apparently weighed her words. "You two seemed very close when Ron and I walked up on the platform."

"And?" Draco swallowed before setting his features into the stoic mask he was so good at achieving. If Hermione wanted to accuse him of something, he wasn't going to help her phrase it out.

"And, I want to know what you're up to, Malfoy," she said easily, as if she'd asked him what he'd had for breakfast. Bacon and oatmeal, for the record.

"I'm not up to anything, Granger." He sighed, raking a hand through his hair. She caught the gesture and narrowed her eyes, but Draco ignored her. "Harry and I are friends."

"He hates you," she pointed out.

Draco's breath hitched, stung by her words as if she'd slapped him. "He doesn't anymore," he replied softly, trying not to betray how badly the idea of Harry hating him still, or ever, made bile rise in his throat.

"Maybe," she allowed. "But, I want to know why. How did you, Draco Malfoy, get Harry to change his mind about you?"

Draco closed his eyes and let his head thump back against his seat. Maybe he should have sat somewhere else. Away from the whole lot of them. "Granger….we were alone in a house together for eight weeks. We bickered and fought a lot at first, but…then we stopped."

She seemed to think about his logic and sighed. "You said his name. While you were sleeping."

Eyes suddenly wide, Draco sat up defensively, worried about what else he might have said. "I said Harry's name?"

"Mmhmm," Hermione murmured, still eyeing him curiously. "And it wasn't with hatred."

"That's because I don't hate him," Draco pointed out easily. It would have been simple for him to tell Hermione that he loved Harry just then…but that had to be Harry's choice to make.

Granger rose with more grace than Draco had ever given her credit for possessing. She was almost a woman now, not the same bushy haired little girl he'd called a Mudblood all those years ago. "So I see," she chimed vaguely, leaving an unsettled pit in Draco's stomach.

"I don't hate you either. For what it's worth. Or Weasley," Draco said, apparently unable to help himself.

Hermione just shot him one last lingering, peculiar glance and left the compartment, leaving Draco to stare after her. It seemed the feelings weren't mutual. He could see her silhouette on the platform of Hogsmeade and watched as she made her way away from the station and into town.

Draco let his head fall into his hands, wondering how he was ever going to get through this year as he felt the train jerk to life. He leapt up with a yelp, grabbing his trunk and hauling it as quickly down the corridor as he could. Draco was grateful that no one was around to see him as he barreled off the train, barely making it before the crimson engine left the station and not without casualties. His trunk had sprung open in his haste, spilling some of the contents around the platform.

With a sigh, Draco stooped to gather his scattered books and parchment and clothes. "Need some help?" called a voice behind him, and Draco glanced over his shoulder to see a form slink from out of the shadows, his hair a dark mess of curls, his eyes gleaming emerald behind a pair of round spectacles.

"Harry," he breathed, relief flooding his veins as his boyfriend moved to kneel beside him. "I thought you were with Pomfrey?"

Harry shrugged, his hand covering Draco's as they reached for the same textbook. "I started feeling better on the carriage ride up and doubled back to get you. I figured you'd probably hit your Hermione limit for one day." His smile was teasing, but Draco couldn't help but notice that his eyes seemed distant. Hollow. His heart clenched painfully.

"Your friend is…protective," Draco offered civilly, figuring that 'your friend is an insane busybody with crazy eyes' might earn him a chastisement or two. And not the fun kind.

"Mione? Yeah…." He gave a slightly bashful shrug. "She means well. They both do."

They gathered Draco's things and stuffed them haphazardly into the trunk, snapping it closed with a spell. As soon as it was shut, Harry grabbed Draco's hand and pulled their bodies together. "I'm sorry about the distance today, but I don't want to go another six hours without being able to kiss you."

Draco felt warmth spread through him at Harry's words, their bodies melting even closer together as his fingers found their way into that soft black hair. "Then don't."

Their mouths crashed together like the tide on the shore, caressing, eroding Draco's will. He knew they should break apart before anyone saw them, but he was unable to stop the dance of their tongues or the tangle of their bodies together. They just fit, and nothing could tear them apart when they came together this way.

His breath quickened, his pulse raced. The full moon was still a couple weeks off yet, but he could feel it in his veins. It called to him, made each touch fiercer, each kiss more desperate. He knew he should stop. He knew that much further and he'd be carting Harry off into an alleyway.

With a groan, Harry slid his hands to Draco's chest and shoved, hard, sending them staggering back from one another.

"Sorry," Harry muttered, his breathing labored. "Just…not here. Yeah? After the feast…we can….meet somewhere."

Draco nodded, swallowing, unable to reply in words. He took a deep breath and reached down for the handle of his trunk, Harry automatically moving to the other side. They lifted it together and began the long trek up to the castle, a million questions circling Draco's mind.

(+)(+)(+)(+)(+)

It was even worse than Draco had expected.

The Great Hall was full of students, all catching up over a massive feast, their voices a ringing din in the air. Harry shot him a look that could only be pity and Draco's shoulders slumped ever so slightly when he saw the Slytherin table and he was able to count the number of students seated there without having to use his toes.

"You can sit with us," Harry offered, but Draco's gaze drifted over his boyfriend's head and to the classmates that awaited him at the Gryffindor table, all of them looking as if Draco were some sort of blemish they hoped Harry popped before the end of the night.

"No. I really don't think I can," Draco sighed, squaring his shoulders. "It's fine. I'll be fine."

Harry shook his head. "If you don't come with me, I'm coming with you."

Draco snorted quietly, his eyes sparkling with silver mirth that very clearly said both of those things could be arranged. He relished in how quickly Harry's cheeks heated, their minds so perfectly in tune. "Ah yes, and will you be telling all of your friends that you're having dinner at the Slytherin table with your boyfriend? Because that's the only way they'll understand. And even then…they won't understand."

He didn't realize, back when they were still at Grimmauld Place, with Harry curled beside him, his head nestled perfectly in the crook of Draco's neck, how excruciatingly difficult this would all really be.

"And what if I do tell them?" Harry challenged.

Draco grabbed Harry's shoulders and spun him to face his friends. Weasley, Granger, Finnegan, Thomas, the girl Weasley, Longbottom….and more and more that Draco couldn't even name. "Go on then," Draco challenged right back, knowing Harry wouldn't. Couldn't. Not yet.

"Draco," Harry began, but Draco already heard the defeat in his voice.

"You're not feeling well. You should eat. And you should catch up with your mates, and you can see me after," Draco promised. "I'll sneak you the Slytherin password as soon as they release it."

Harry turned back to him, his eyes flitting about Draco's features, seemingly trying to discern something before giving him a curt nod. "I'll be quick. Message me the minute you have the password."

Forcing a smile, Draco shoved his boyfriend toward the Gryffindor table as he trudged over to the very empty Slytherin table. He sat alone, his gaze occasionally darting up to watch Harry, who seemed to light up a bit around his friends. They made him happy, which pleased Draco, but also left a terrible sinking feeling in his gut. It wouldn't be long now before Harry realized that the Grimmauld Place was just a dream and this - Hogwarts, his friends, Quidditch, studies - this was reality, and there was no place for Draco there.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Alright. Let's see what kind of mess I can get our favorite boys into today. Thanks again to my lovely Beta Deb and thanks to all who have reviewed so far.

Draco paced the Slytherin common room. It looked the same, with its dark wood furniture, the tall glass windows looking into the center of the lake, the eerie green ripples that swam over the room from the moving water. It smelled the same, like cold, damp stone and worn leather. But it sounded quite different. Outside the sound of his own dragon hide boots padding softly on the ornate rug beneath him, all was silent.

He tried to look at the silver lining. This meant he and Harry could sneak around easier. He had no one left in his own year, so his dorm would be private to them. Harry could even stay the night if he thought he could get away with it.

But it also meant that when Harry wasn't here with him, Draco would be greeted with this same maddening silence.

A noise drew his attention, a scuff of feet across the room. His eyes narrowed to slits as he tried to glimpse who was spying on him.

Dark hair emerged first, then shiny green eyes. "Harry?" He smiled brightly, because the sight of Harry always made him smile, but it faltered at once.

It wasn't Harry.

As soon as the boy stepped into the candlelight, Draco realized his mistake. His hair was dark, black, but it was much longer than Harry's, long enough to curl beneath his ears and brush across his shoulders. And his eyes were more hazel than green, the hue he'd seen just a trick of the strange light in the room or perhaps just Draco's wishful thinking. The boy was slighter than Harry and dressed in Slytherin robes and Draco beckoned him over with a crooked finger, his expression haughty.

"Who are you and why are you snooping on me?" he demanded. He felt a flash of his old self, the confident, powerful pureblood who he thought had died the night that Fenrir ravaged his body and changed his life forever.

"I wasn't snooping," the boy replied, hands clasped behind his back. "I just didn't want to interrupt your thoughts."

Draco waved away the comment, even though it was appreciated. "Your name?" he demanded again.

"Alec McNair," the boy answered, with only lingering pride in his tone. Most Slytherins these days seemed to temper their voice with shame.

"You're….fifth year?" Draco asked, scrutinizing the boy. He recognized the name easily enough. Their fathers were Death Eaters together.

"Sixth," the boy chimed, head held high. "Why were you expecting Harry Potter?"

"Who said I was?" Draco replied defensively.

"You thought I was someone named Harry," Alec pointed out. "There are no other Harry's at this school."

"In the dark you just looked a bit like him, is all," Draco brushed the comment off, making toward the stairs of his room.

"Is it true you spent all summer with him?" Alec asked persistently.

Draco turned and glared over his shoulder. "You seem to know more about me than you should. Why is that?"

"Because you're Draco Malfoy," Alec answered, as if that explained everything. "Everyone knows everything there is about you."

"And why, don't I know a thing about you?" Draco snapped.

"I'll tell you anything you want to know," Alec replied, his eyes bright and eager.

"I don't want to know you, Alec." The words were brutal and Draco felt bad immediately after saying it, but it hadn't stopped it from being the truth. He wanted his Harry and his Harry had not come to him yet. This boy would make no suitable replacement for his boyfriend's company.

Alec looked hurt and nodded, slinking back a step, then two. "When you do…you know where to find me." He turned and wandered off into the darker places in the common room, toward the sixth year dorms.

Draco glared after him, annoyed by his presumptuousness, but the sound of a throat clearing in the other direction made him turn.

Harry.

Now that his eyes landed on the real thing, Draco couldn't believe he'd mistaken Alec for the perfect form that stood before him. "Sorry," Harry whispered, wrapping his arms around Draco's neck. "It was harder than I'd thought to get away."

Draco had a feeling this wouldn't be the last time he heard those words, but he nodded, wrapping his boyfriend in his arms. "I'll allow you to make it up to me," he replied with a smirk, glancing toward his dorm. "I'm the only seventh year Slytherin," Draco murmured, glancing toward his dorm.

Harry seemed to catch the meaning of that quickly enough. Draco felt Harry's arousal twitch against his thigh. "Last one there gets fucked," Harry teased and bolted for the stairs, his strides easily eclipsed by Draco's longer legs as he ducked through the archway with a laugh and well ahead of Harry.

The door snapped shut behind his boyfriend, Draco already lounging on the bed, brow arched expectantly. "I let you win," Harry told him. "I want to feel you inside of me tonight."

Draco allowed himself a small shiver. "I beat you fair and square, Potter. Now, come and give me my prize."

Sometimes at Grimmauld Place, Harry would make a seductive show of undressing, but tonight, he practically tore his clothes away and crawled into bed beside Draco. They kissed, his lips like fire as they descended, burning Draco to his core. His fingers tangled in Harry's wild hair, pulling roughly before closing the space between them once more. Harry's skin was hot to the touch, his desire pressed against Draco's thigh and rutting desperately.

Draco slid gracefully from his jumper and trousers, leaving them on the floor where they fell. He drew Harry against him, wrapping his hand around their twin desires and giving a firm stroke. He knew just how to touch Harry to make him moan, and moan he did, holding nothing back, just as it was back home.

He stopped stroking with a start, his mouth going dry as he realized he'd just thought of Grimmauld Place as home. Not because it was the ancient ancestral house of his maternal bloodline, but because of Harry. "I love you," he whispered, almost shocking himself with the words.

Harry blinked and the world came to a shuddering halt.

Over the last several weeks, Harry had said the words a dozen times, but Draco had never responded in kind. It didn't seem to bother Harry, at least not that his boyfriend had ever mentioned. But now, staring into Harry's verdant gaze, his lips parted in awe, Draco realized he should have said the words a long time ago. To make Harry look at him this way, he'd say them a thousand times over. Draco started to, but Harry silenced him with hot lips scorching his own.

Their bodies melded into one perfect form, rolling and writhing on Draco's bed. They had known one another's bodies from the very first time together, as if fate had drawn them together at last, as if they had lived many lives as one before this and they each instinctively knew how to bring the height of pleasure to the other.

Draco pulled Harry against him, kneading his thighs as he slipped down his lover's taut form until his sight was filled with Harry's magnificent cock. He loved to tease his boyfriend, to run his tongue slowly up and down his flesh, make him twitch, make him beg, but not tonight. Tonight he wanted to feel Harry come down his throat. Now.

He took Harry's rigid desire into his mouth with a moan, low and guttural; his fingers toying with Harry's sac and slipping lower to tease at his entrance. Harry cried out, his body bucking upward, burying his thick cock even deeper. Draco loved it when his lover lost control; he loved to make Harry unravel.

Draco's head bobbed up and down, milking Harry with his mouth and his fist, pumping his length upward to meet each gliding stroke of his lips along Harry's velvet length, lost in the taste of him.

"Draco," Harry panted. "Fuck."

He could tell Harry was close, he could feel the slight swell at the head of his prick, warning Draco of the impending release. So, Draco sank deeper on Harry's cock, taking it deep into his throat, moaning at the way it filled him up. Harry's fingers fisted in Draco's hair and pulled as his release exploded down his lover's throat, his entire body shuddering with pleasure as Draco swallowed him down, not wasting a single drop. Draco savored it all; the sounds, the emotions, the flavor. Who knew how long this memory would need to carry him? How long it might be before Harry could sneak away again without anyone noticing.

His jaw carried that dull ache that only a spectacular blowjob left behind, and Draco smiled up the long line of Harry's body, watching as his favorite pair of green eyes went from glassy with lust to wide with love. And then Draco realized that Harry probably never minded that Draco never said the words because he'd known it all along. "I love you," he said again, even though it might be unnecessary.

Harry grinned back down at him, crooked and full of unbridled happiness. "I love you too, Draco."

Draco took his time crawling up Harry's body, nudging his thighs apart as he went. He rummaged in the bedside drawer for a jar, opening it to breathe in the soft minty fragrance. It used to remind him of medicine, but now the scent only reminded him of Harry and amazing sex and glorious orgasms. It was certainly an improvement.

With deft fingers, Draco smeared the substance along his shaft and then plunged two greedy fingers into Harry's needy hole, loving the way his boyfriend arched off the bed, fingers digging into the sheets. "Tomorrow night I'll make you beg for it, but right now, I just want to fuck you, Harry."

Harry seemed fine with that idea, if his moans meant anything. He didn't wait until Harry was fully stretched before kneeling between his thighs. He knew Harry liked a little burn, and Draco always wanted to give Harry what he wanted. Draco wasn't slow. He wasn't gentle. His hands gripped Harry's hips almost painfully as he drove home, burying himself deep inside of his lover with a single thrust.

"Draco!" Harry shouted, his renewed erection bobbing against his stomach. "Yes. More. Harder. Yes."

The words spilled from Harry's mouth like a chant, between struggling for breath and moaning Draco's name. It was all music to his ears as he thrust over and over, relishing every sound. It didn't take long before Draco's orgasm began to creep up, starting in his toes and his stomach all at once and sizzling along his body. Once they met in the center, his release would fill Harry's eager channel. He rocked their bodies together with expert ease. His frame was stronger with the wolf blood mixed into his own. If he wanted –and he had tested it on several occasions – Draco could lift Harry and fuck him against the wall with little effort. Pinning him to the mattress was a breeze.

Harry's name was a strangled moan on his lips as he came, Draco's thrusts becoming erratic as his seed filled Harry to the brim. He felt Harry's tight heat squeezing him, taking him deeper as they each fought to keep their breathing even.

"So..." Harry said after a long shuddering breath. "We have your dorm all to ourselves this year, hm?"

Draco chuckled breathlessly. "My eager little boyfriend. Already plotting out our next encounter, are we?"

Harry grinned and it was wicked and beautiful all at once. "I'm giving you a twenty minute breather and then your arse is mine, Malfoy."

Draco liked the sound of that.

(+)(+)(+)(+)(+)

The next few days had their ups and downs. Harry snuck around to see Draco as much as he could, but Draco still managed to fill his days with a lot of alone time. Harry's friends didn't seem any keener on him being around, even though he made the occasional attempt to budge into their circle. As a general rule, the group went silent any time Draco entered the room. His boyfriend made every attempt he could to get his friends to warm up to Draco, but it seemed nearly impossible. It was hard to keep a smile on his face until he was alone with Harry, and then he couldn't seem to stop smiling.

The one upside to not having any friends was that Draco had more time to concentrate on his studies, so he was excelling through every course. It was a nice change from the last minute scrambling he'd had to do last year just to get passing marks. He'd been far too distracted with…well, taking down Harry Potter. The irony of that never seemed to get old.

Outside of his studies and failed attempts at ingratiating himself with Harry's friends, Draco's other pastime was trying to figure out Alec McNair.

The boy was always around, studying across from Draco, or eating across from Draco, or walking near enough to reach out and touch him on the way to classes, even though they didn't even attend the same ones. He was almost worried he'd procured his very own stalker, until Draco noticed something else. Within those same vicinities sat Valerie Morgan, another Slytherin student Draco had never bothered to acquaint himself with, though he vaguely remembered Pansy trying to light her hair on fire Fourth year.

That explained Alec's persistent presence easily enough, but it didn't explain much else about him. The boy seemed jumpy, easy to startle, and when he'd seen him in the showers, he'd noticed very large scars across his back, lacerations from a whip….or claws. The image made him shudder. Draco knew, beneath his pristine Slytherin robes were very similar scars.

"McNair, come here," Draco demanded one particularly boring afternoon. The boy had been sitting in the chair across from him, a large textbook in his lap, but his gaze was all for the crackling fire in the common room hearth.

Alec looked up with a jolt and stood, closing the book and tossing it into the chair he'd just vacated. "Malfoy?" he inquired when he was standing before him. Something about his swift obedience piqued Draco's curiosity even further. Draco had only ever behaved that way with his father and with the Dark Lord, never dallying an instant when he was called upon, but that was all different now.

"The scars on your back, how did you come by them?" he asked bluntly, platinum brow arched.

McNair went pale, his hazel eyes shining. "There are no scars on my back."

"Liar. I've seen them," Draco snapped before taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, his voice gentler when he spoke again. "Tell me about them."

"I'm not allowed," he said at last, and Draco tilted his head, scrutinizing McNair closely. The marks were a shameful thing, and Draco pitied him before realizing he only pitied himself. He stood fluidly and lifted his shirt, showing a set of identical marks across his chest. Four very long, ragged scars. Alec's eyes widened almost comically, if anything about their shared marks were at all amusing. "Fenrir?" he asked, swallowing quickly. He clearly hadn't meant to say anything.

"One and the same," Draco breathed. "How long have you been changing?"

"Two years," McNair admitted after a thoughtful pause, hanging his head, a flicker of relief in his eyes. That was well before Draco's own transforming marks.

"It's been less than a year for me," Draco replied, his steely gaze boring into his new companion. They were brothers now, cursed brothers. He suddenly wanted to know more about the boy he'd never noticed before this year. "I remember the days leading up to the change," Draco sighed. "I'd never been in so much crippling pain. It was like every bone in my body was breaking and reforming for days."

Alec seemed to ponder that for a moment and shook his head. "Not for me. For me, it was filled with cravings. Out of nowhere, I'd want red meat, nothing but red meat; the rarer the better. It was disgusting. But it wasn't exceptionally painful until the night of the actual change. Then it hit me all at once."

"Really?" Draco asked, genuinely curious. "I always thought…I thought it was the same for everyone."

Alec shook his head. "There are a few people from my old neighborhood that were turned. Each of them had a completely different experience in the days leading up to the change."

"So, you know other wolves?" Draco asked, perhaps a little too excitedly. He always felt a little lonely. The only other werewolf Draco knew was Remus Lupin, and he was around so infrequently and even when he was, Draco felt a bit awkward trying to strike up a conversation with him. He was all but ignorant about his own kind, learning everything he knew from a few stories he'd heard growing up, some books he'd read and his own experiences in the last few months.

"A few, but no one close." The somber expression Alec always seemed to carry lightened somewhat. "We could go into the forest together this full moon. I've never ran with anyone else before."

"Neither have I," Draco admitted. He'd done plenty of other things with Harry in the light of the full moon, but that was between them. He'd planned to spend this full moon with Harry as well, since his boyfriend was so very fond of his furry form, but suddenly Alec looked happy for the first time since they'd met and Draco couldn't tell him he already had other plans. Not just this moment. "Have you told Valerie?" Draco asked, changing the subject. He noted the soft flush to Alec's cheeks that confirmed his assumption of the other boy's crush.

"She doesn't even see me," Alec sighed, moving back over to his chair and sliding into it. "But it's fine. I couldn't subject her to…."

Draco knew what he would have said, that because he was a werewolf, she wouldn't like him. That someone like her deserved better. That no one could ever love him the way he was now. All the things Draco had thought about himself…before Harry. "Sometimes people surprise you," Draco told him, eyes steady and warm. He'd never had a sibling and he wondered vaguely if this was what it was like to have a little brother.

"So, Potter's fine that you're a werewolf?" Alec asked, a knowing smile on his lips. Draco narrowed his eyes, opening his mouth to demand how Alec knew about them, but the other Slytherin only laughed. "Silencing charms are still necessary to completely blot out sound, Draco. Just because the dorm is empty, it doesn't mean the castle is," he taunted.

Draco felt a slight flush to his cheeks and rolled his eyes, huffing slightly. "Well, aren't you just a little eavesdropping pervert," he teased, a wry grin on his lips.

Alec scoffed. "Seems to me your Potter is the perverted one."

Draco's lips split into a devilish smirk. "You've no idea."

His new friend made a disgusted face and brushed the comments away. "Who knew you and Potter would get so…chummy. I thought you hated each other."

"We did. Once upon a time," Draco murmured, remembering every slight, every hex, every argument, every lost Quidditch match, every single taunt and even the scar that now mingled with the claw marks across his chest.

"And now?" Alec asked, hanging on Draco's every word.

"And now, it's different," Draco said quickly. "And it's also none of your business."

Alec raised his hands defensively. "Fine. Fine. Just…you know…silencing spells next time," he said with a wink, just as a throw pillow from Draco's chair promptly wiped the smirk from the younger boy's face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Ready for part 3 yet?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Trouble coming any moment now... *Smirks* Unending love for my Deb and many thanks to all of my readers and reviewers.

Draco smiled as he watched Harry saunter toward him. He wondered if Harry even knew how dead sexy he looked. In fact, Draco noted, his boyfriend seemed to be feeling better. His pallor was back to normal, his cheeks slightly flushed, his eyes brighter than the emerald in Draco's ring. Draco leaned against a crumbling column in the courtyard, his gaze traveling up and down Harry's form as he approached. They were in public, so he couldn't reach out like he wanted, couldn't pull his boyfriend against him and snog him senseless.

Sometimes having to keep his hands to himself was unexpectedly nice. It made for delicious tension, all of which served only to heighten the pleasure when they were finally alone. It was like a game, a test of wills. This was not one of those times, however. He wanted desperately to touch Harry, run his hands through his hair and kiss him deeply. "Hey," Harry said, sidling up to Draco, their bodies close, but not touching.

"It's been three days since I've seen you and all you have to say to me is 'hey'?" Draco chastised, trying not to let the sting of that admission flood into his tone too much. He was partly teasing. He didn't want Harry to ever feel obligated to see him, but it didn't do anything to lessen the jarring pain that Harry hadn't wanted to spend time with him for so long a span. It hurt worse since Harry was all Draco could think about.

"Sorry," Harry winced, glancing at his feet. "I was in the hospital wing. Pomfrey kept too close an eye for me to sneak out and come see you."

Draco's eyes widened. Harry was in the hospital wing and he'd had no idea. How was that possible? "Are you alright? Why didn't you tell me? Send word? What…what happened?" he demanded, now more than ever, he wanted to pull Harry against him and cling tightly.

"It was nothing," Harry brushed off Draco's concern. "I just had a really bad fever they couldn't break…but I'm better now. In fact, I feel brand new."

"Brand new?" Draco asked, the concern not leaving his voice. Something niggled in the back of his mind, but Draco couldn't seem to concentrate long enough to bring it into fruition. Frustration, anger, guilt worry; they all fought for a place in the forefront of Draco's mind and he wasn't even sure yet which would win out. "Harry…you were in the hospital wing and I had no idea. Do your friends really hate me so much that they couldn't even tell me something that important?"

Harry sighed, raking a hand through his hair, apparently finding his trainers fascinating. "About that…I kind of made them…well, Hermione at least, promise not to tell you." A knife seemed to stab Draco right there on the spot. Was this it? Had Harry decided, in his feverish delirium, to leave him at last? He must have looked as gutted as he felt, because Harry rushed to assure him differently. "I just didn't want you to worry. It was pointless. I knew I would be okay."

"How?" Draco shouted, his jaw clenching in his rage and rejection, which were apparently the emotions he'd finally settled on. For now. "How could you have possibly known that you would be okay? What if you weren't? What if that had been…?" Draco choked on the words. What if Harry hadn't been fine and those had been his last moments….and they hadn't spent them together? The idea left him feeling nauseous.

Harry looked conflicted, but after a moment, he pulled Draco against him. "I'm ready," he whispered fervently. "I'm ready to tell everyone about us. My friends, my family, the whole school. But, Draco….there is something I have to tell you first," Harry whispered softly against his ear.

Draco clung to Harry's robes, even knowing he shouldn't. He shouldn't be so overt with his affections. Not here. Not yet. "What do you have to tell me?" he asked, his voice shaky, expecting the worst. But how bad could it be if Harry really wanted to tell everyone about them. Whatever it was, it would be fine as long as there was still a 'them'.

"Draco," Harry swallowed, looking a bit unsure. "Promise me that you'll hear me out…hear all of it…before you judge me, okay?"

Heart beating wildly in his chest, Draco could only nod. Had Harry cheated? Did he have a relapse with that Weasley girl? Maybe that was why he was in the hospital wing…nursing a nasty infection from the She-Witch.

"Oi, Harry!" called a voice from across the courtyard and Draco had never wanted to hex anyone more than he wanted to hex Ronald Weasley in that moment. It must have been apparent on his face, because Weasley shot him a menacing glare. "Sod off, Malfoy. I have something I need to talk with Harry about. Privately."

"Ron. We were-" Harry began, but Draco silenced him with a shake of his head. He was livid, his hands making small fists at his side. The full moon was that night and it grew harder and harder for Draco to maintain his temper the closer it got to the change. He wanted to punch Weasley in his stupid ginger face, and if he stayed there, he would, and Draco still had enough presence of mind to know how counterproductive that would be to making friends with him.

"Harry, I'll be around. Just come find me later. We can continue this then," Draco offered, stepping away from his secret boyfriend with visible effort and heading toward the castle despite Harry calling after him.

The ideas of what Harry might have needed to tell him would likely eat away at Draco all day, but it was for the best. If it was that important, it was probably better that they have the conversation in private. Where Weasels couldn't get to them. Besides, it was the full moon tonight, and Draco had been looking forward to spending it with Harry, the man he loved. The man who accepted that side of him and every other side of him.

Draco shot Harry one last lingering glance over his shoulder before disappearing into the castle, looking for Alec. He needed to tell him about his other plans for tonight and somehow assure him that they'd have other chances to go running in the forest together.

But he would devote tonight to Harry.

(+)(+)(+)(+)(+)

Draco found Alec in the usual place; sitting beside the common room fire. "McNair," he greeted warmly, the Slytherin looked up from his book to smile at Draco.

"Draco! Are you ready for tonight?" he asked, and his palpable excitement sent a dagger through Draco's heart.

"About that," he sighed, sitting on the arm of Alec's chair. His only friend here at Hogwarts, and he was about to blow him off. But it was for Harry, and in the end, no one was more important to him than Harry. He tried not to wince when Alec's smile faltered. "Tonight…I'm sort of spending it with Harry." He decide to just take the blunt approach, rip the bandage off in one go, as it were.

Alec blinked. "With Harry? You turn into a wolf with Harry Potter?"

Draco felt a flush creep along his cheeks and down his neck. "Harry….likes it," he said, trying to explain without really saying anything.

"But…oh. Oh!" Alec's eyes widened impossibly as Draco's meaning dawned on him. "So, Potter's a werewolf too?"

"What? No," Draco shook his head. "He's just…a bit…"

"Kinky," Alec deadpanned. The thought made Draco laugh, but Alec wasn't smiling. He was clearly hurt.

"Alec, I'm sorry," Draco sighed, reaching out to put a hand on his friend's shoulder, but Alec shrugged it off.

"No. It's fine. I get it. If I had someone to fuck instead of running through the woods, I'm sure I'd jump at the chance," he grumbled, rising gracefully from his chair and stalking toward his room. He turned, his eyes cold and sad. "You'd had these plans all along, hadn't you?"

Draco swallowed. "In part. They weren't confirmed until a little while ago though."

Alec sneered. "I'm no one's plan B, Malfoy. I thought you had more respect for me than that."

"I did. I do," Draco insisted with a groan. This was going far worse than he'd ever anticipated. "I just didn't want to hurt your feelings until I was absolutely sure I'd need to back out."

"Have fun shagging Potter tonight," Alec growled before disappearing into his dorm. The sun was close to setting; only a few hours away. Tempers were rising, emotions running high. Tomorrow, after the full moon, he'd talk to Alec again, try to smooth things out, try to make it up to him, but for now Draco had to prepare for the full moon, his wolf and for Harry.

(+)(+)(+)(+)(+)

The moon was quickly rising in the dusky sky.

Even though Draco was still inside the dungeons, he could feel it, like a tether to his navel tugging at him roughly. He knew the sensation would continue until he shifted. It was uncomfortable, but the Wolfsbane would ease that a bit, if he could only find it.

Draco had never been careless with his stash of potions. He had to make it on a fairly regular basis so that he'd always have some on hand, and it had to be less than a couple months old, or else it didn't work as well. Only a skilled wizard could make the potion perfectly, and Draco was very skilled. He knew he'd made a decent sized batch at Grimmauld Place just before they'd left. He'd given some to Remus when he came to check up on Harry but he distinctly remembered casting a non-shattering charm on the rest and packing them safely in his trunk.

But they weren't here.

Without that potion the wolf would have utter and complete control over him. Without that potion he couldn't be near Harry, couldn't risk it. Without that potion he'd be stuck inside the wolf's mind and the wolf's body like a prisoner staring through barred windows and unable to touch the sky. He'd only experienced it once, during his first transformation, and he'd vowed never to let it happen again. He felt so small and insignificant trapped inside of his wolf.

"Fuck!" Draco growled, his fingers already clenching into claw-like fists. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all.

With an otherworldly swiftness, Draco burst from his room and down the stairs into the common room. He was just about to bolt from the castle and into the forest so that he wouldn't hurt anyone, but a flash of movement caught his eye. He turned to see Alec in the corner, swallowing a gulp from a vaguely lavender vial of liquid. His Wolfsbane potion.

"Alec, is that my potion?" he accused, knowing the faint glisten to the mixture could only be attained by a truly practiced hand.

Alec only shrugged and smirked before downing the last of it. "Might have been."

Draco tried to quell the anger starting to boil inside of him. Alec was just a boy who was hurting and wanted to lash out. He didn't understand. He couldn't. "Alec…where is the rest?" Draco demanded. It wasn't too late. He hadn't shifted yet, if he took the potion now, he'd still retain most of his control. There was still hope for his evening with Harry, until Alec's eyes darted to the rubbish bin and the three broken vials within. The remainder of Draco's potion.

"I really do hope you have a good time on your date, Malfoy," the boy chimed, pain and anger in his eyes. "Try not to eat him."

A low rumbling growl escaped Draco's lips. "You and I will have words tomorrow, McNair," he promised, his whole body shuddering with the desire to rip out Alec's throat, something he was almost certain he'd regret in the morning. "You don't do this to friends."

"Are we friends, Malfoy?" Alec ground out. Draco could tell the change was coming over the other boy as well, though not as swiftly. "Because I got the impression you were just using me for convenient company until your neglectful boyfriend would visit."

The words stung, because they were partly true. Draco had been using Alec to fill the void Harry's absence had left behind, and he hated himself for it. "Look…I'm so-" Draco rasped, his words cut off by a vicious snap in his spine as it tried to elongate without his permission.

Alec rushed to his side, eyes wide and regretful. "Draco!" he shouted, but Draco was already shoving him away and bolting for the door. He had to get out of this castle and away from these people before he shifted. Without the Wolfsbane in his system, none of them were safe from him.

He could hear the sounds of the castle amplified all around him, students talking, chairs squealing across stone, laughter, crying, singing, taunting….all of it ringing in his ears as he flew through the corridors and out into the courtyard. There the smells of the outdoors slammed against his nostrils, making them flare wide to try to take it all in at once. Even in the dead of winter, Draco could smell the wilted grass beneath the snow, smell the seaweed trapped beneath the layer of ice at the edge of the lake.

The forest smelled amazing, the birds, the tall pines, the earthy soil. Draco ran, never stumbling, until he heard a shout behind him. Someone calling his name.

Harry.

Draco didn't have to turn around to know who it was, but when he did he was met with a pair of baleful green eyes, wide and confused. "Draco!" he called again, but the Slytherin just shook his head.

"I can't. Not tonight, Harry. Not…with you. Stay away," he growled back, the rumble in his throat making him hack and cough. He wanted to explain, tell him he didn't have his potion, tell him that it wasn't safe to be near him tonight, but Draco would have to explain in the morning, because his wolf was taking over already.

Draco sprinted for the safe cover of the woods, silently praying that Harry didn't follow him.

Almost as soon as the trees started closing in around him, the world went black for a second and all Draco knew was pain in the dark. His body shook and trembled and there was a scream on his lips. The forest floor swam into view fast enough to make his stomach heave, and Draco was on all fours, his robes tattered from his own claws.

Dark again and his body arched backward at an unnatural angle, his spine snapping and popping, his skin rippling violently. The sound on his lips was no longer a scream but a gurgling cry. His hands clenched into the forest floor, ripping up chunks of blistered wood and weeds and he tossed it in his agony, hearing it hit a tree with a satisfying crunch. Much like the sounds his bones made as they shifted into new places.

When the world spun back into focus, Draco was a small dark dot in the much larger consciousness of the wolf. He stared down at silvery pale fur, strong legs lifting from a low crouch. His neck arched and he let out a strangled howl that sent birds scattering from nearby trees and the forest around him seemed to pause in fright. The wolf liked this feeling, the feeling of control. The feeling of power.

The beast tested its new hands, knuckles cracking as he made loose fists.

These hands were made for tearing and slicing and killing. And that's what the wolf wanted to do. It leapt forward, tearing a path through the underbrush with its enormous form. Everything ran from him and it was exhilarating, it made his heart race with the excitement of the chase.

The scent of a large buck caught his attention and his beast spun in the dirt, catching traction in the opposite direction as he lopped after it. Within moments he saw the antlers and then the buck looked right at him, its eyes reflecting the light of the full moon. The wolf was salivating and lowering into a crouch, ready to pounce at the slightest movement from the wayward deer. They faced off that way for what felt like hours, and Draco could almost taste the cloyingly metallic taste of blood in the back of his throat.

The wolf was ready. It was ready to take down the buck and rip its sweet throat to shreds, until a high, melodic howl echoed through the forest all around him. His head jerked toward the source of the sound and his buck bolted in the opposite direction. A low growl rumbled through his lips at the loss, but he took off after the sound.

The sound of another wolf.

It didn't take long to find him. Draco edged up to a clearing, circling it with sure, measured strides as his mercurial gaze fell on the new werewolf. It sat in the center of the clearing, waiting, watching Draco with suspicious eyes. Dark fur flowed off of the other wolf like silk, his muzzle lifting to smell the air.

Alec.

Somewhere, deep inside his beast, Draco cried out. It was Alec, it had to be, and memories of their time together flowed from him into the wolf, including their last exchange. The lips of Draco's beast pulled back in a low, ominous snarl, his body taut and ready to pounce. Ready to tackle. Ready to kill.

"No. No. No," Draco screamed out from inside his wolf. He felt as if he were being smothered beneath heavy fabric, his voice drowned out by the even breathing of his beast.

The other wolf moved, padding closer, alarmed but not afraid. "Alec, no! Alec, stop!" Draco pleaded helplessly, the only sound was the low rumble of his growl as his lips pulled back to snarl at Alec's wolf. The next moments were a blur.

Draco was lurching forward, his jaws snapping viciously and connecting with something soft. The taste of blood flooded Draco's mouth and he gagged, but his wolf pressed on, biting, clawing, growling, all in a blur of dark fur and light. Blood and dirt. Moonlight and darkness. He felt the crunch of bones beneath his grip and the feel of his own flesh rending as the other wolf battled with him, rolling and seething in a snarling heap along the forest floor.

Draco begged for his beast to stop, he didn't want to hurt Alec, not like this, but his beast was beyond the point of hearing him, and wouldn't have listened anyway. He was hell-bent on making the other wolf pay for a slight it couldn't even understand. And his wolf was succeeding.

Until he heard a loud snap and a released a painful yelp as his leg shattered from under him. He'd fallen awkwardly, caught around the middle by the dark wolf as it threw him to the ground, his leg fractured beneath him. He tried to move, but the crippling pain made him whimper.

Draco howled, a high and strangled sound as he collapsed to the ground, his leg too wounded to carry him any further. It gave the ebony wolf the upper hand and Draco felt it the moment those claws sunk into the flesh of his back. He closed his eyes, expecting Alec's wolf to finish him, but instead he felt a hot tongue probing his entrance and he let out a low whimper. Somewhere in the back of his mind Draco screamed out. No. This was not happening. He belonged to Harry.

But the wolf had control, and without the Wolfsbane potion, Draco stood no chance of gaining it back. Not until the moon had waned and it was already too late.

His body ground back against the hot tongue, panting as he felt the slick muscle enter him, probing his throbbing channel. Regardless of what Draco wanted, the wolf wanted more, more of that tongue, more of this new wolf. He felt teeth graze him gently as the ebony wolf pulled away and for a blissful instant, Draco thought he was safe.

Until the werewolf mounted him.

Draco refused to think of him as Alec, the bold Slytherin he'd deemed a brother. This was his beast, and only by separating them could Draco maintain his sanity locked deep inside his own beast's psyche. He felt the other wolf's monstrous prick grinding against his sac, their cocks lined up together beneath Draco's kneeling form.

Draco saw the luscious onyx fur to either side of him as the other wolf draped his body over his back almost intimately. He howled as the wolf slid back, only to line his enormous cock against Draco's entrance and press slowly inside. Draco clawed ravenously at the ground, but not to get away. Instead, he pushed back, hungrily taking every inch of the beast's desire, yelping as it buried to the hilt inside of him.

Or at least he'd thought at first it was the hilt but was shockingly aroused to discover that he'd slammed against a hard knot near the base of the werewolf's cock. The beast was already massive inside of him, his shape-shifting form the only thing that kept the girth from splitting him wide open, but as the wolf slammed against his arse with a resounding slap, he knew he'd take far more before the dark beast was done with him.

Only Harry had ever been inside of him, and somewhere inside his own beast, Draco was lamenting that loss. This new cock, sure and strong and magnificent, drove Draco even deeper into the hole of dementia where he was forced until the full moon passed. Draco was his beast now, and his beast craved the other wolf like an intoxicating drug. He pressed back for more, falling into pace with the wolf's brutal rhythm, his body easily welcoming the wolf into him again and again.

It felt amazing. It felt right. This was what sex was supposed to feel like; the beast in Draco's head seemed to tell him, over and over until Draco almost believed it. He didn't have to be careful with this other wolf like he did with Harry. He didn't have to worry about infecting him. He didn't have to worry about breaking him. Suddenly, in the forest, with this fierce werewolf pounding into him, Draco didn't have to hold back anything.

They slid perfectly together, dark and light mixed into one ball of howling pleasure, and then the wolf pulled out until only his leaking tip was inside of Draco. He pushed back, trying to drive his silvery body back down, trying to impale himself once more, but the dark werewolf held him still. When that beastly cock hammered into him again at last, the knot slammed inside of him as well, making Draco howl in a wave of pain and pleasure linked so closely he didn't know where one ended and the other began.

Draco couldn't move, couldn't buck, couldn't thrust his hard arousal into the dirt for more friction. He was under the other wolf's power now. And he loved it. Even beneath the fur, the sinewy muscle, where Draco was just a small voice inside this larger presence, he loved it.

Ownership.

This beast owned his body, its claws raking down Draco's side, its teeth biting against the back of his neck, and he completed that ownership with a howl as the ebony beast emptied his seed inside of Draco's pale, shuddering form. He felt hot all over, as if a fire had started in his core and threatened to burn him from the inside out, the wolf's release exploding inside of him in quick, filling bursts that claimed parts of Draco that no man had ever touched.

Draco tried to withhold, tried to keep from spilling his own essence onto the forest floor. Only Harry had ever made him come…he still had that, and he hung onto it for dear life. But as the wolf pulled out, his enormous cock glistening with his own release, he nudged Draco onto his back and stared at him intently. There was something in his eyes that Draco felt connected to. Alec. It was Alec who had defiled Draco's eager body, and he stood there now, panting and proud. Draco was frozen, frozen in that gaze, made greener by the forest around them, and he whimpered in defeat.

The darker wolf nuzzled Draco's aching erection with his nose, drawing his wide tongue in lazy circles over the flesh before taking it deep inside of his mouth. Draco howled as teeth scraped deliciously and he thrust up into all that heat, watching as his pale prick disappeared into the dark chasm of the other wolf's muzzle.

He was lost in the pleasure, not even able to lament that the wolf was stealing this too from him, because he knew he would never outlast the heat of that beastly mouth. And he couldn't. With one final thrust, Draco came, a cry on his lips as he watched the wolf – Alec - drink him down, not leaving a single drop to fall to the earth. Draco's eyes grew half-lidded and he sank, boneless, to the forest floor.

The ebony wolf licked and nuzzled his face, but Draco nudged him away. With the lust in his veins fading, Draco gained back a sliver of the control he'd lost and all but shoved Alec away. If the clever Slytherin thought that after this there was any chance of them being friends…brothers…he was sorely mistaken. The darker wolf padded close again, lapping at a wound on Draco's throat, but Draco growled, a low, ominous sound that made the darker wolf retreat.

His own pale silvery fur was filthy with sweat and dirt, leaves and blood. The fur of his thighs were matted with the beast's seed, and his leg still throbbed where it was likely fractured, but he'd be damned if he'd let Alec heal him or try to get intimate now.

Muzzle lifted in a snarl, Draco used what energy he could muster and chased the other wolf away, his tail tucked between his legs, deeper into the forest. With a soft whimper, Draco collapsed to the ground in a pale heap, his body shivering with the regret of what he'd done. He'd wanted to spend tonight with Harry, and instead, he spent the night betraying him. It wasn't enough that he'd not only allowed, but welcomed his body to be used by the other wolf, but moreover, he'd enjoyed it. Every last minute with Alec's beast had been thrilling and even now, even after the guilt attacked him and settled into his bones, somewhere deep down, Draco craved more of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: So...yeah. And then that happened.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Much love to Deb, my brilliant Beta and the fantastic fans who have been reading and reviewing.

Draco felt a deep, penetrating soreness through to the center of his bones. He shivered violently, spitting soil and leaves from the edge of his lips back to the forest floor where it belonged. His mouth felt like someone had filled it with cotton. And nails. And Draco's head felt like the full Hogwarts' Choir was inside his brain singing off key.

The memories of the night before swam into pinpoint focus and his stomach heaved. Alec. The Wolfsbane potion. Shoving away from Harry. The change, dear Merlin the crippling change.

And the other wolf.

Draco felt a new wave of nausea as he recalled the all too vivid details about what happened next. He'd betrayed the man he loved in the worst possible way.

The forest was as quiet as a forest could be just before dawn. There were birds chirping and small critters skittering around, and all the things that would have frightened him when he was forced to accompany Harry out here First year were soothing to him now.

Until they stopped.

Draco turned his head, listening, sniffing the air, trying to penetrate the looming dimness with his stormy gaze. Every sense he possessed was still heightened after the change, and he tried to use it to the best of his advantage. He knew someone, or something was out there. Waiting. Watching.

He caught the scent of wolf, faint, but familiar and slammed his fist into the ground. Draco stood on wobbly legs, but most of his injuries from the night before had healed. His ankle was still severely swollen, but he'd be damned if he would let Alec get the better of him again. "Didn't I make myself clear last night?" Draco shouted into the gloom, naked and unabashedly furious.

"I don't want you!" he continued when only silence met his ears. "I could never want you!"

Draco was on the verge of tears when the silence faded away to the normal sounds of the forest. Once he was sure he was alone, a sob wracked his throat and sent him back to his knees. Everything was ruined. Harry had trusted him, loved him, and Draco had squandered it. And for what? For one night with another wolf he didn't even care about.

He tried to rationalize that he wasn't in control…but doubt filled him, making him wonder if he would have resisted the call of the other wolf even if he'd had the Wolfsbane.

Yes. He would have. His love for Harry would have kept his wolf in check and deep down he knew that was the truth despite the surfacing doubts. All Draco ever wanted to be was worthy of Harry. First, because his father had demanded it and later because he'd learned to grudgingly respect the Gryffindor menace and now, because he was arse over elbows in love with him.

With a heavy sigh, Draco stood back on trembling legs and tried to formulate a plan. Without clothes or a wand, he was either stuck here in the forest until the right person came looking for him, which might be never. Or he'd have to streak across the grounds and back into the castle, and by streaking, Draco knew that meant slowly and painfully hobbling to the castle in the hopes of all the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor students were snugly in their towers fast asleep and not staring out of their windows.

He decided to try for the castle, but instead of going to the dorms, he was going to have to go to the hospital wing. He tried to picture the look on old Pomfrey's face when he turned up in her midst filthy, injured and completely starkers. She knew about his…affliction, of course. All the staff did, but they were under strict orders from Headmistress McGonagall not to say a word unless absolutely necessary. Draco always wondered how much of that privacy was because of Harry's involvement with him.

He supposed it didn't really matter in the long run. The only thing that mattered now was getting into the hospital wing unseen. He couldn't expect anyone to keep his secret if he put himself into situations that brought up too many questions.

Every step through the forest was arduous. Draco managed to lose his path three times before finally seeing the light filtering through at the edge of thick copse of trees and sighed with relief.

But it was short lived as Draco realized that now came the hard part; traveling completely exposed across leagues of open grounds and then into the hospital wing as students would be coming down for breakfast. Steeling his nerve, Draco took a step out into the garish sunshine, made worse by the cold air swirling around him. "Great," he muttered to himself. "Filthy, naked and to top it all off, the cold is making little Draco run off and hide." He snorted, imagining Harry teasing him about his trouser dragon, a pang of longing lingering in his chest.

Hopefully after all of this, he and Harry would still be able to have silly conversations about his cock… among other things.

Draco braced himself, thinking he might sprint for it, get it over with like ripping off a bandage, but with the very first step he let out a hiss of pain. Bearing down on his leg was still painful. When he shifted back overnight, the bones had started knitting back together, but it wasn't finished healing by any means, and he'd been walking on it in the forest for Merlin only knew how long – a good two hours judging by the sun.

A choked sob stuck in his throat as he realized he would have to do this the hard way, but as he took another step he felt a soft tingle start at his scalp and work its way down to his toes. It strengthened for a moment, his whole body alight with liquid fire, and then faded to a dull pulse just as quickly. Draco knew that feeling. It was the feeling of being under a Disillusionment Charm, and unless someone was actively trying to see him, or bumped into him accidentally, Draco was completely invisible.

Draco glanced around; looking for his protector before realizing it could have only been Alec. Only he knew of Draco's predicament. Only he could have known where Draco was. Perhaps the younger Slytherin felt regret for his actions last night, or perhaps he'd wait and remove the Charm at the most opportune time, like when Draco was passing by the doors of the Great Hall, but he wasn't going to shout or scream at his nemesis this time. He was going to take all the help getting inside he could get and set off.

He'd get Alec back for everything later, when he was inside, warm, clothed and healed.

(+)(+)(+)(+)(+)

Miraculously, Alec never removed the spell from Draco's exceedingly naked form. In fact, it might have clung to him a bit too long, because even after wrapping his body in a blanket from one of the infirmary beds, it still took literally running into Madam Pomfrey before she even noticed he was there.

Although, he had to admit, it was a bit fun being about to stand directly in front of her and pull obnoxious faces. She never was as careful with him when he went to the hospital wing as she seemed to be with other students.

She let out a sharp huff when she finally noticed Draco and his disheveled state. "Honestly, Mr. Malfoy. It's not polite to sneak up on your elders. What poor manners you've developed."

Draco didn't bother to argue that he could have run at her naked and flailing in pain instead. So, he just nodded and trudged over to the bed she was already making up for him. "I'm injured."

"Well, I can certainly see that, Mr. Malfoy," she puffed as she took in the full state of him. "And in need of a dozen Scourgifies as well, it seems."

"I'd prefer a bath, if it's all the same," Draco muttered.

"Beggars can't be choosers, Mr. Malfoy. Now, what seems to be the worst of it?" she asked, trying to yank the blanket out of Draco's death grip. "Honestly, Mr. Malfoy, I'm a Healer, not some fainting teenage girl. I've seen whatever it is you have under there a hundred times over."

Draco let go of the blanket, but he didn't relax and he couldn't make eye contact either, staring off at the curtain Madam Pomfrey had pulled to block anyone from viewing them. Not that it seemed very necessary since the wing was empty of patients save Draco.

"My right ankle seems to have snapped…but…it's healing already," he murmured, glancing at her only briefly enough to see the calm in her features. She knew what he was and she wasn't afraid of him. "It's still very painful though."

"It's swollen and it appears the tendons around the healing bones are still quite torn. I imagine it was quite a feat getting here from the Forbidden Forest," she presumed correctly, so Draco just nodded as she bustled off.

Draco could hear the clinking of jars and vials across the room and then suddenly she was back, handing him a cup that swirled with a myriad of colors and smelled like soggy Quidditch gear. He turned up his nose but downed the liquid before she could chastise him. Too many years in the Malfoy family had taught him that potions very rarely ever smelled good and even more rarely tasted pleasant. He'd probably conquered his gag reflex by the age of four.

His head swam for a moment, as if he'd just suddenly woken from a deep sleep, but soon a lovely warmth spread over him and his body's aches began to subside. He released breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding. "Thank you," he whispered.

Madam Pomfrey offered a small, indulgent smile and tucked the blanket back around him. "Rest here for an hour or so, and then we'll get you a nice bath and some clothes," she instructed, but before she popped off again, Draco grabbed her arm to stop her.

If she was startled, she didn't show it, so Draco asked her the question that had been on his mind since he safely arrived in the hospital wing. "Harry…is he…okay? I mean, I know he was in here a few days ago…is he…better now?" Draco rambled.

Carefully Madam Pomfrey pulled from Draco's light grasp and tutted sharply at him. "Mr. Malfoy, Healer-patient confidentiality isn't just applicable to St. Mungo's. I suggest if you want to know about Mr. Potter's past, present or future ailments, you should ask him directly," she stated very matter-of-factly. "However, I will say that he's well enough now."

Draco frowned at the vagueness of her answer and tried to be grateful for what she had offered him, but she wasn't paying him much attention any longer. Madam Pomfrey scrutinized the space on the other side of Draco's bed for a long moment, shaking her head and muttering about the chivalry of Gryffindors before turning and leaving Draco staring in confusion after her. The moment she left the little circle of privacy the curtain created for him, Draco let his head fall back to the pillow and before he could say Sickle three times fast, he was asleep.

(+)(+)(+)(+)(+)

Mates.

Draco slammed his fist onto the table in the library and let out a violent sob. His whole chest shuddered with the force of it and it was only moments later he realized he'd drawn the entire room's attention. Thankfully there were only a handful of students there at this hour, but it was enough. Draco gathered the tome he'd been reading and fled the library for someplace more private - his room.

He'd vaguely remembered a lesson he'd had during his private tutoring at the manor. Professor Agnes Crattlebothem had told him all about the various species outside of wizards and Muggles. Vampires, Veela, Goblins, Trolls, and so on. A subject she seemed to be particularly fond of was Werewolves. So fond, in fact, she'd once described their mating ritual.

She was sacked immediately afterward, for what Lucius called 'filling a young boy's head with pointless, filthy drivel'. Suddenly that pointless, filthy drivel was all Draco could focus on, and he didn't know whether to thank or curse his old tutor.

Not remembering enough detail from her lecture, Draco had decided to look it up, only to have the blood drain from his features and a feeling of nausea settle in his gut.

Mates.

How the hell had he mated with Alec?

The possession he'd felt, the sense ownership, all of it, it was real. It was because he belonged to that wolf in the woods. He belonged to Alec now.

Draco couldn't reach the loo fast enough before the contents of his stomach emptied. He stooped on the floor on his hands and knees, retching until tears pricked the corners of his eyes. What had he done? What had he done to Harry? What had he done to their relationship? Despite his worries that Harry would wise up and dump him as soon as he realized how much happier he could be with someone normal, Draco had allowed himself to imagine a life with Harry. A very long one at that. But now, those dreams were being vomited upon the floor to be vanished away with a spell.

Mates.

Damn Alec. Draco hoped to Salazar that the boy at least didn't know what he was doing. Could Draco have really misjudged him that much? Could the same quiet Slytherin he'd considered a brother just a week ago, be so malicious as to mate with him knowing that he was with Harry? He didn't want to think it was possible. It still didn't change what happened though, intentional or not.

Thankfully the Slytherin in question had been scarce since the full moon. Draco was certain that as soon as he saw him again, he'd feel the draw he was supposed to feel to his Mate. He didn't know how to explain any of it to Harry. How does one say 'I love you, but I accidentally married another boy in the woods the other night'? Only…it was worse than that. The bond of marriage was the easiest thing for Draco to compare it to, but it was really so much more, so much deeper. A marriage could be annulled, couples could divorce, separate…but Mates…they were for life. There was nothing deeper or more permanent than the bond between Mates. Even death had been known to balk in the face of such a tie.

Although, right now, death sounded far easier than explaining any of that to his boyfriend.

(+)(+)(+)(+)(+)

The corridor was clear.

Draco felt like a ghost. He only managed to occupy the castle when it was empty or dark. When he slipped into the Slytherin common room, he did so without a sound and snuck out just as quietly. Avoiding Harry was difficult on its own, but avoiding Alec, a housemate, was near impossible. Draco wished he'd never met the other Slytherin. Never befriended him. Never trusted him.

Twice now he'd found items on his nightstand shifted around, and once he even heard the door handle creak with the use of powerful spells as he slept. He knew Alec had tried stealing into his room some nights since the full moon, but Draco had warded his dorm pretty heavily against unwanted intruders, and Alec was definitely unwanted.

Except that he wasn't.

Not entirely anyway. Draco had woken almost every morning with lingering dreams about his wolfish friend, and a lingering erection as well. He always tried to think of Harry as he rid himself of the affliction, but every sexy thought about his boyfriend managed to morph itself into the wolf. Sucking the wolf. Fucking the wolf. Being taken and owned by the wolf.

Draco always came for the wolf…as if Harry was a dream of his past. And maybe that was the truth, but Draco was just too much of a coward to face his boyfriend and watch the devastation on Harry's face as relayed all the gory details. His heart still belonged to Harry. He knew that to his very core. But the wolf seemed to own his body…and Draco knew Harry would never share.

Whenever he spotted Harry in the halls, his heart broke all over again. Every time he had to slip into a crowd to avoid his boyfriend's gaze, or when he ate every meal alone in his room to avoid the questions. It all weighed so heavily on him, but Draco couldn't decide what else to do. So, he kept up his charade of Dodge Potter and tried to pretend everything was still okay.

Draco knew he couldn't do it forever.

For now, Harry's friends and Quidditch practice seemed to keep his boyfriend preoccupied. Draco couldn't deny that it hurt that Harry didn't seem to notice Draco's avoidance too much, but for the moment he couldn't complain. The longer they stayed away from each other, the more time it bought Draco to formulate a plan. Draco would have to continue creating distance as long as he could, or until he figured out how to tell Harry about his indiscretion without being sacked. Whichever came first.

There were storms brewing outside, which didn't bode well for Draco's sneaky corridor travels because it meant that all of the students would be inside the castle instead of outside enjoying the grounds. He could only hope that Harry would take this rare occasion to study in his dorm, however unlikely. Draco stuck to the shadows as much as possible, but he would have killed for Harry's invisibility cloak as he made his way across the heavily lit hall that led to the library.

He'd been in desperate need of a new book to read, as he'd already raided the Slytherin common room of anything decent. That's all he'd done since the full moon, or he wouldn't have risked the exposure. Hide. Eat. Go to classes. Read. Repeat. He'd even skipped a few of the courses he shared with Harry, and thankfully, Alec wasn't in his year, so he didn't have to worry about running into him in the remaining classes he did attend.

Draco didn't feel confident he could slip in and out of the library and back to the safety of his dorm without being noticed, but he had to try. He kept telling himself that it was just a quick trip and he knew exactly which aisle he was targeting; the one that had every book about love spells, infatuation charms and most importantly - Mates. He was determined to learn more, to devour every bit of information available about this problem until he could find a way to break his bond with Alec.

So far he'd struck out with every book he'd read, but Draco knew if there was something, anything out there that might work, he had to try it. For Harry. For any hope that they might someday share a life together.

He made it into the library without being seen by anyone important and rounded along the backside of the library, away from the tables and studying students. He could see them through gaps in the books and down the length of aisles, talking, laughing, scribbling furiously with parchment and quill. And then Draco saw him. Harry. His Harry, looking pale and sick and forlorn and Draco's heart shattered all over again.

Granger and Weasley sat across from him and they were speaking to Harry, but their friend kept shaking his head, his hands forming small fists under the table. Draco couldn't help himself and he looped around and knelt against the aisle directly behind the trio, a row of books about mysterious potion ingredients of Tanzania the only thing keeping them from seeing him.

"You don't know him," Harry ground out.

"Actually, we do, mate," Ron countered snidely. "He's been after you from the first day you met. Have you forgotten what his father's done, or what he calls Hermione, or what he did to Dumbledore just last year?" he demanded.

"I haven't forgotten," Harry replied, sounding tired, as if defending Draco had become a regular chore for him lately. "He's not what you think, and he's certainly not his father, and everything he was is….different now."

That put things mildly.

"I don't understand how someone can change so drastically overnight," Hermione muttered. "But what's more baffling is that you believe him, Harry. Weren't you the one who turned on us last year when we refused to be as suspicious of him as you were? What's happened? What has he done to change your mind?" She didn't sound upset, or angry, but there was a deep curiosity to her voice that was even more dangerous than the other emotions combined.

"It's no one thing," Harry sighed. "I've told you. Both of you. He's different. I…care about him. I just…I don't understand what's going on now."

"He's reverted back to the old Malfoy again, is what's happened," Ron huffed. "If he'd ever really changed to begin with."

He heard Harry sigh, heard the sound of a forehead hitting the tabletop and Draco's own head fell back to rest against the books, wishing it was Harry's shoulder. How had they come to this? Things weren't perfect before by any means. They had their problems…their issues…two of which were sitting across from Harry right now and the other was pale and furry and thankfully sleeping somewhere deep inside of him at the moment. They should have just stayed at Grimmauld Place. Then none of this would have ever happened.

With a sorrowful sigh, Draco pulled himself up and went in search of the books he needed. Now more than ever he was determined to prove to Harry that he was the man Harry hoped he was, defended to his best friends that he was. But to do that, he had to sever his tie with Alec.

Draco plucked several tomes from the shelves and shoved them into his bag before exiting quietly from the library. He was going to head straight back, but he decided to make one more stop, since he knew Harry's exact whereabouts, he felt somewhat more confident.

The Owlery was one of his least favorite places. It smelled of bird musk and left Draco feeling like he needed to bathe immediately, but he needed to do this, to do something. He quickly pulled out a quill and bit of parchment from his bag and scrawled a quick note and stared at it, hoping Harry would understand.

I love you.

Draco didn't know what else to say, what else he could say, besides the one simple truth he knew deep in his heart to be right. He hoped Harry would know who it was from, because he couldn't risk signing it and one of Harry's friends finding it instead.

Swallowing thickly past a swell of sudden emotion, Draco sent the note off with Harry's own Hedwig and bounded back downstairs for the Slytherin dorms.

He thankfully made it back without incident, but his luck ran out there. As soon as he stepped into the Slytherin common room, he was tackled to the ground and left on his back, staring up at a very angry looking Alec. Draco was momentarily relieved that he didn't feel the enormous pull he'd felt in the woods, the magnetic draw that Mates shared. Maybe this bond could be broken after all.

"I knew you'd be cross with me, but the silent treatment? Really?" Alec demanded. "I'm sorry. Please, Draco. I'm so sorry I stole your potions. I've replaced every single vial. It was stupid and petty and childish and I'm sorry."

Draco blinked back his momentary confusion at Alec's presence, his blurted confession and his useless apologies before rolling out from under the dark haired boy and shoving him to the side. "The potions?" Draco snarled. "You think that's why I've been avoiding you?"

Alec frowned. "Well…yeah."

Draco did his best not to shift and rip Alec's throat out and only barely managed. His face took on an unflattering shade of purple from the effort of holding back his rage. "Stealing my bloody potions was a shit thing to do, McNair, but nowhere in your empty little head did you think I might be cross with you for Mating with me?"

"Wait..what?" Alec shouted, and Draco didn't think the confusion on his face was being faked.

Draco took a deep breath and tried to gather his thoughts. Maybe Alec really did have no idea what he had done to Draco in the forest. "That night…when we…you know…that's called Mating. It's a very important ritual amongst our kind-"

Alec waved him off. "I know what Mating is, Draco," he snapped. "Why would you ever think I would do that with you? I'm in love with Valerie…and even though she doesn't even know I breathe, I kind of think Mating with you would be counterproductive to winning her over."

Draco gaped, suddenly unsure of anything anymore. "So…in the forest…we didn't…." Draco swallowed. "We didn't fight…we didn't…Mate?"

Alec's nose scrunched distastefully. "No offense, Draco. I mean…you're pretty for a bloke and all…but…not even as a wolf do I swing that way."

The world seemed to spin out of focus. Draco had been so sure it was Alec. Who else could it be? He must be lying. He had to be. "I don't understand. Who else at this school is a werewolf?" If the staff kept his affliction a secret, it seemed reasonable they'd do it for other students as well. Even Alec's disease had gone unnoticed by anyone but Draco himself.

Alec gave a small shrug. "What did it look like?"

"Black. All black," Draco murmured. "He was larger than me when I shift, and it was definitely a bloke."

"That much I gathered," Alec muttered.

"Sod off, McNair. This is serious. Because you stole my Wolfsbane, my wolf took over and let some stranger Mate with me!" he growled, freshly furious with the younger student all over again.

"And I'm sorry about stealing the potion. Seriously. You have no idea how sorry…but I had no idea anything like that would happen. I'm all gray as a wolf…and of the few people I knew that were wolves, none of them were all black. But…it's a large school, and Fenrir is still loose…and there are more infections cropping up every day. It could be anyone."

"Not helping, Alec," Draco ground out, feeling faint. It was bad enough being Mated to someone other than Harry when he thought it was Alec…and now he had no idea who it was. It could have, like Alec said, be anyone here at the school…for that matter it could be a resident at Hogsmeade or just someone who does their shifting in the forest. "I think I'm going to vomit."

Alec rushed to his side Draco's knees gave way and smacked hard against the stone floor. "Fuck, Draco. I'm so sorry. I had no idea any of this would happen. I thought…I just thought you'd have to cancel your night with Potter. I had no idea that it would spiral into this."

"Please, shut up, Alec," Draco groaned. He couldn't find it in himself to continue being furious with the boy, when he was rubbing slow circles into his back and seemed to feel truly repentant. But that left Draco with more problems than he wanted to own up to just this moment. "I need your help finding this other wolf. Ask the others you know…see if any of them have seen a solid black wolf. I can't even begin to break this bond if I don't know who I'm bonded to."

"I'll ask. If anyone knows, we'll find him, Draco," Alec assured. "How has Potter taken all of this?"

Draco felt ill all over again. "I haven't told him. I've been avoiding him since the full moon."

"That's been days now…" Alec murmured unhelpfully.

"Fifteen days, to be precise," Draco murmured. "I'll be lucky if he even considers me his boyfriend now. I just don't know what to do. How do you tell the person you love that you can't be with them because you're married to another wolf?"

Alec winced. "I wouldn't fancy having that conversation with anyone."

Draco sighed, burying his face in his hands. "I don't know what to do. I love him so much and he'll leave me for this, I just know it. I can't lose him, Alec."

And he was sobbing. Something within him finally snapped and the overwhelming pain of his situation bared down on him with teeth and claws and all Draco could do was curl up in a fetal position as Alec sat awkwardly by, soothing him as best he could. He thought the lowest he could ever get was the night he was turned, but now Draco had truly lost it all. Draco's world was crumbling all around him and he would never, ever be the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: So, I wanted to give you all something to read while I'm off celebrating my birthday this weekend. I hope you all enjoy it! I'll post the last chapter shortly after my return.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Love, fondness and warm fuzzies to my Beta Deb and to all my readers. Thanks for sticking with me. This is the last part!

"You're an idiot."

The voice came from behind him and wasn't at once familiar, even if it did echo a sentiment Draco had been telling himself often over the last few weeks. He turned around to find Hermione standing behind him, arms crossed over her chest and a very huffy expression on her face. So much for making it to Herbology without incident.

"Pardon?" Draco asked, although he'd heard her quite clearly the first time.

"I know it wasn't all just an act," she pressed on, uninterested in Draco's stalling tactics. "It couldn't have been. You're in love with him."

"I'm sorry, who are we talking about?" Draco asked, still trying to figure out what exactly was going on. He wasn't going to be tricked into admitting what was happening.

"And he loves you too. I've never seen him like this. Not with Cho…not with Ginny. He loves you. Merlin help us all, but for some insane reason, he's completely in love with you," she kept rambling, not even really looking at him anymore. Draco began to wonder if he just walked away right now if Granger would even notice.

"Did he tell you that?" Draco asked, and suddenly, when her eyes were boring into his, he wished she was still pretending he wasn't there.

"He doesn't have to tell me. I can see things as they are for myself," she sighed. "I knew he had a crush on you. I could tell by the way he spoke of you…but then…I saw at once it wasn't just a crush at all. But he has a secret, Malfoy. Something I won't betray, and you're breaking his heart. I can't stand by and allow it to go on any longer."

"A secret?" Draco asked quietly, remembering that day before the full moon when Weasley interrupted them. Harry had told Draco he had something to tell him…and everything went to hell shortly after that.

"Ron doesn't know…and I'm not supposed to…but I've figured it out before….You need to talk to him. Just talk to him," Hermione demanded…pleaded. Draco drew himself up to his full height. He knew the confrontation would come sooner or later. Whatever happened, he owed Harry the truth of things.

Nodding curtly, Draco closed his eyes. "Where is he?"

"The Astronomy Tower. I told him I needed to see him, that I'd figured things out and that I wanted to talk. But you're the one he wants to talk to, Draco. You're the one he needs right now," she said. Maybe it was the broken tone of her voice, maybe it was the fact that she'd used his given name…but Draco felt terrified yet resolved to go to the Tower and have this one final talk with the love of his life.

"I love him so much," he admitted, so happy to be able to say it out loud to someone he never thought he'd ever be able to confess it to. "I can't breathe without him in my life."

"I know," she sighed. "That's why I'm doing this. Don't make me regret it."

She turned then, her robes swaying slightly as she walked away, clearly expecting him to make good on their arrangement and with a steely resolve, Draco turned around to do just that.

(+)(+)(+)(+)(+)

With every step that lead Draco to the top of the Astronomy Tower, his heart begged him to turn back while he still could. He didn't think he could withstand the pain if Harry rejected him, sacked him and didn't want to see him again, as justified as all those feelings might be. The more Draco tried to imagine a life without his Harry in it, the more miserable he became.

In the end, what drove Draco to the top of those stairs was the fact that this was Harry's decision, and by avoiding him, Draco was trying to keep Harry from being able to make it. That wasn't fair. All Draco could do now is lay everything out on the table and hope and beg and plead for Harry not to leave him.

He could make out Harry's strong outline leaning against an opening on the far side of the room. The moonlight bathed him in liquid silver and Draco desperately tried to suppress the image of the wolf. This was Harry, his deepest and purest love and he would not think about anyone else tonight. His Mate could call to him all he wanted, but Draco would belong to Harry as long as his Gryffindor wanted him.

Staring out over the grounds, Harry was balling up a small scrap of paper over and over in his fist, never looking down at it, but he couldn't seem to stop touching it. Draco realized at once that it was his note and his heart swelled foolishly with hope.

"I should have known she was setting me up," Harry said, still not turning around to face his boyfriend; if Draco even held that precious title anymore.

"If you don't want to see me-" Draco began, but Harry turned in his sadness and his rage and it was all pinpointed on Draco's eyes, making him flinch and back up a step.

"Of course I want to see you," he seethed. "I've wanted to see you for days on end, but you've been dodging me."

Draco winced. "There is something I need to tell you," he breathed, feeling the words choke sharply in his throat.

"Oh?" Harry ground out, his fist in a tight ball, Draco's love note clutched tightly in his grasp. Draco wondered vaguely if the words were even legible still. "I had something to tell you too, but I suppose you've already figured it out." Draco blinked in confusion, but before he could say another word, Harry plowed ahead. "I thought I could trust you. I thought you'd be there for me. I'm not good enough for you now, is that it?" Harry demanded, hands forming into fists again at his side. Draco could see tear tracks, but Harry's eyes were dry now. It broke Draco's heart that he'd caused the only person he'd ever loved so much pain.

"Of course you're good enough, Harry, I love you," Draco admitted in a desperate shout. "I just didn't know how to tell you. I'm so sorry. I wish it didn't mean anything. I wish it was just sex…." He thought perhaps he could just blurt it all out, tell the story in one long breath, but Harry cut him off.

"You wish…it was just sex?" Harry choked, his voice strangled as he stumbled back. "Make up your mind, Draco! Do you love me or do you just want someone to shag?" Harry demanded.

Draco felt so confused. "I love you, Harry. Of course I love you. That night…I didn't have any Wolfsbane. That's why I ran from you when you called to me. I couldn't be trusted not to hurt you…or worse. I didn't mean for things to happen that way…that other wolf…I don't even know how it happened, but I felt this connection…this bond, Harry. I can't deny that anymore. I love you, but what if it's not enough? What if my wolf wants him instead?!" Draco let out a choked sob. "Harry, you are the love of my life. I was too afraid to tell you what happened and like a fool I tried to hide until I could solve it. But I've been over and over and over the texts a hundred times, but I haven't found anything. Harry…what if I'm bonded to that other wolf forever? I don't even know who it is!"

Harry ran a hand through his already messy locks as he scrutinized Draco. "Another wolf," he repeated. "That's what this is all about? You've been avoiding me because you shagged another wolf on the full moon?"

"I thought you knew…Hermione…dammit, I'm going to kill her…you didn't know that?" he breathed, worrying his hands and his lip and feeling sick all over again. This was it. Harry was going to leave him. And he should. Draco was rotten. Maybe Harry could have forgiven him for the indiscretion…he'd been around Remus enough to know that without the potion, the wolf was almost impossible to control…but the feelings. Harry could never forgive the feelings that Draco had developed from that one night. Nor should he. Draco certainly hadn't learned to forgive them.

"Oh, I knew you shagged a wolf in the Forbidden Forest last full moon," Harry said, his voice tinged with a bitter laugh. "It was me, Draco."

Draco's eyes went impossibly wide, his mouth dry, his head shaking back and forth in denial. "No…it…couldn't have been…" He recalled the rich black fur of the other wolf, the scarring on its body, the way it seemed to know him…. "But that means…" Draco was going to be ill. "That means when we shagged at the Order…I infected you."

Harry fidgeted. "Yeah. But…I don't care about that. Draco, I don't care that I'm a wolf, so long as I'm your wolf." His hand raked through his dark locks again, like fur the color of midnight.

"Remus gave you some of the Wolfsbane potion I gave him, didn't he?" Draco asked, shaking his head as the puzzle pieces of the last few weeks slowly clicked into place. "He never said a word…he told me you were fine."

"I told him I wanted to be the one to tell you," he sighed. "I should have told you sooner, but I was trying to figure out how." Draco could relate.

"So….the wolf I fought with…mated with…." Draco whispered questioningly.

"Me," Harry confirmed with a shy nod.

"And the person I yelled at the next morning?" Draco asked with a wince.

"Still me," Harry murmured, looking down at his feet.

"And the one who cast the Disillusionment Charm on me so I could get to the castle?" Draco asked.

"Also me," Harry sighed. "But I would have carried you there if you'd have let me," he rushed to add. "I hated watching you lose yourself in the woods…and that painful walk back to the castle….it almost killed me not to rush to your side, Draco."

"But you didn't think I wanted you. You thought all those cruel words were for you," Draco sighed, feeling wretched. "And it was you in the hospital wing, and you in my room…trying to get into my room even after I'd set up the wards," he murmured more to himself than to Harry as he tried to sort things out in his head. "But I had already told you to leave me alone. I told you I didn't want you, I avoided you," Draco choked, finishing what he assumed was Harry's thought. How had he messed everything up so terribly?

"I thought…when you pushed me away… didn't talk to me after…I thought you were disgusted with what I was. I thought…because you hated your own wolf so much, that you'd hate mine as well," Harry admitted, his voice thick with sorrow and regret.

"Hate?" Draco took a step forward. Things were finally falling into place. The night, such a violent blur, was suddenly making sense to him. "I could never hate any part of you, Harry. I avoided you because I couldn't understand. At first I was afraid to admit that I'd cheated…then, I was terrified of the thoughts and the feelings I had for the wolf…for you, only I didn't know it was you. I'd never wanted anyone more…it was a feral thing. I wanted you, my wolf wanted you. It was as if…." Draco swallowed, not sure how to say it…not sure if he could say it.

"As if you'd found the mate to your soul?" Harry whispered.

"Yes," Draco answered, and all at once they were crashing together in a heated kiss. Fingers, skin, mouths, tongues, all dancing together. Harry moaned and it vibrated through them both. Draco could hear it now, the twinge of otherworldliness to Harry's voice that hadn't been there weeks ago. It was deeper, but only barely, raspier, which would go away after a few changes. His body was still adjusting to reforming into a wolf once a month.

Draco shivered as he thought of that form. Large, dark, strong. The memory of that night took on a different flavor with this new knowledge, the knowledge that it had been Harry that took him that night. Harry that claimed him. Harry's cock pulling those guttural moans from his lips. Harry's knot that had Mated them together forever. He swallowed and looked into the verdant eyes he loved so desperately. His boyfriend…no….his Mate, looked back hungrily, tongue darting out to whet his lips. "I can smell your arousal, Draco," he whispered, looking both confused and eager.

Nodding, Draco stepped forward. "Your senses will be heightened even after the change," he explained softly, his heart beating loudly in his chest. "Harry…do you know…." Draco began and swallowed, not sure how to proceed. "What we did in the woods…it's not typical for our kind. It's….a special bond."

"The knotting?" Harry asked, and Draco's eyes widened slightly. "Yeah. I knew. Are you…cross with me?"

"Cross?" Draco asked, taking a swift step back, not sure how to take this new information, but Harry stepped forward and closed the distance again.

"I know I didn't ask…I'd wanted to…I tried to talk to you before the change…but we kept getting interrupted. I thought when you attacked me in the woods that you were still angry over it, but then… you seemed to know what I was doing….and you didn't resist," Harry rambled, before scrubbing his hands over his face. "I'm sorry! Merlin, I sound like a rapist trying to justify my actions or something," he groaned, but Draco grabbed his hands and pulled them away from his face so he could look into his eyes.

"You, Harry, are the love of my life," he whispered, which seemed to catch Harry off guard. "Perhaps it wasn't the most romantic proposal," he teased lightly, eyes sparkling with love and mirth and adoration. "But you wedded and bedded me all the same, Harry Potter. I am irrevocably yours. Can't you feel that?"

Harry paused, closing his eyes briefly before nodding sharply. "Yes. I feel you. Like another heartbeat. I can catch trails of your thoughts…I can feel the echo of your emotions playing over mine. Your happiness….your lust, they are connected to my own." Harry's hand pressed against Draco's heart and slid lower, teasing the top of his trousers. "I want you to accept my proposal, Draco."

Draco's heart beat wildly against his ribcage, like a trapped bird. He tried to remember everything from his reading, all the different nuances of being a Mate….and then he realized what Harry was asking. "You want me…to…knot you?" he clarified, mouth dry with his unhinged desire. His Mate must have sensed it because he smiled warmly and nodded.

"That way we'll be on equal footing. Mates. For life," he whispered.

Draco's cock twitched at the thought of laying permanent claim to Harry Potter. "Can you shift…or…."

Harry nodded. "I've been trying to partially shift, like you do…but I can't seem to do that. It's all or nothing."

"I can teach you," Draco replied, threading his fingers through Harry's wild mane and using his hold to crush their lips together in a needy, possessive kiss. "Do you want me to fully shift?"

"Yes," Harry moaned, his breath hitching with the word. Draco's wolf woke up within him, clawing against the inside of his skin, begging to break free and make his mark on Harry's perfect body. He clenched his hands into fists at his side and tampered down the overwhelming feeling. It was easier to stay in control without the moon's power over him, but when he shifted fully, sometimes the wolf still liked to take over.

Draco grabbed Harry by the tie, using the crimson and gold striped silk to tug him into a deep kiss. He was hungry for Harry, every nerve in his body was awake in a way it had never been before. They'd shagged more than a dozen times since that fateful night that Remus Lupin left him on Harry's doorstep, but he'd never felt anything like the swirling, sparking magic that blistered around them now. It was warm and tender and greedy all at once and Draco knew it had to be part of this new connection they shared. "I want you naked. Now," he demanded of his boyfriend. "And then I want you on your knees."

Harry shivered, his eyes darkening with challenge and lust as he shrugged out of his robes and jumper, toed off his shoes and let his trousers drop to the floor. He did not, however, fall to his knees. This had always been their dynamic. Draco would push, and Harry would fight back. Draco would push harder and Harry would give it right back. It made for heated arguments and even hotter sex. "Make me," Harry whispered, a determined smile on his lips.

Stormy eyes sparked like lightning at the challenge as Draco stepped forward and with a strong grip, manhandled Harry to his knees and held him there with one hand as the other unbuttoned his trousers and let them fall in a heap around his ankles. Slowly, Draco freed his cock from the confines of his boxers and smeared the already leaking tip along Harry's lips, already swollen from their brutal kisses. Draco watched as he made them glisten with his own seed. "Fuck, you're beautiful like this," he purred.

Harry smirked, an expression he'd clearly fallen into from spending too much time in Draco's company, and Draco smacked his rigid need against his boyfriend's taunting lips in retaliation, making Harry moan. "Are you going to let me suck it, or are you just going to smack me around with it?" Harry teased, that infuriating smirk still planted firmly on his face.

Pressing forward, Draco answered Harry by nudging his lips with the head of his prick. "I'll let you suck it…for a bit," Draco rasped, already picturing Harry's lips spread wide around his length.

With a throaty chuckle, Harry flicked out his tongue to catch the bead of fluid gathering on Draco's tip. "You taste different," he murmured, emerald eyes turning nearly black with desire. "But familiar," he added in mild awe. "It's strange."

"I taste strange?" Draco repeated, blond brow knit into a tight frown.

"No…you don't taste strange at all," Harry blurted. "I mean…it's strange that it's different." He frowned and seemed to be gathering his thoughts, a blush stealing across his cheeks just before he spoke. "You taste like you belong to me. Like…home."

Draco shivered, his cock giving a twitch of approval at Harry's words. "I do belong to you," he purred as his wolf felt like it was pacing inside his gut, waiting for his turn to play. Harry's response was to run his tongue along the full length of Draco's turgid shaft, eliciting a low moan from the Slytherin's lips. Draco glanced down to see Harry hard and ready, his hand pressing against his straining erection, as if trying to hold it at bay. Draco almost got words out to tease him, but Harry's hot mouth silenced him as his boyfriend descended on his cock like the expert cocksucker he now was.

Lithe fingers twined into Harry's messy hair, soft and jet against his light skin as he guided Harry deeper and gave a small shallow thrust. Harry had always been brilliant at this, but tonight he took Draco deeper than ever before. He could feel Harry's throat tighten around him as he drove deeper still, his Mate taking every inch with a moaning suck.

Harry looked amazing, his lips stretched wide around his aching desire, and Draco couldn't help the string of praise that escaped his lips, coupled with moans of pleasure. His wolf was growing anxious, and with each thrust into the wet heat of Harry's mouth, Draco knew he couldn't hold back much longer. He stared wide-eyed at his Mate, their eyes meeting and locking.

'Do it.'

The words were whispered through his mind in a voice that was as familiar as his own, and Draco gave a small shudder of need. Harry had opened his mind to him and Draco could hear his thoughts. "Fuck," he rasped as the implications welled up and over him. He and Harry were truly bonded. All he had to do was tear away the wall he always kept carefully erected around his mind and they would be perfectly linked – hearing the other's thoughts, feeling the other's pleasure.

Draco allowed the wall to collapse.

The force of Harry's mind nearly made him lose his balance. It was so vivid, so pure, so reckless. His fingers slide further into Harry's wild mane, his nails biting into scalp and he felt the extreme pleasure his touch brought to his lover. He felt the ache in his jaw as if he were the one on his knees with a cock stretching his lips wide. He felt Harry's admiration and desire for him like palpable waves of lust, but what rocked Draco to his core was the intensity of Harry's love.

All he could hope was that Harry could feel the same love pouring over him, because Draco loved him with an unending passion that he knew would never fail him. Harry seemed breathless, just as taken aback by their joining of minds as Draco had been, but he quickly recovered and began sucking Draco harder.

Draco couldn't hold back his beast any longer, though he tried to channel it. His fingers turned to pale claws in Harry's ebony locks, his own hair elongating to tickle along his shoulders as the shift began. He watched, his eyes locked on the place where their bodies were joined, as his cock shifted and expanded, pressing the confines of Harry's lips near their breaking point. He felt the pain of it and tried to pull out, but Harry gripped his arse and kept him in place, working his throat to accommodate the new girth and length. Draco fought against him until he felt Harry's arousal caressing every inch of his skin, as if trying to soothe him.

'I want it. Give it to me.' Harry's voice whispered through his mind, hungry, eager, and Draco gave a tentative thrust. Harry moaned and clung to his hips, anchoring himself as Draco built a slow, steady rhythm and Harry took him with pleasure. 'Yes. Fuck my mouth, Draco.'

Draco didn't think it was possible, but his lover's voice was even more seductive floating through his mind than it was screaming out his name in the throes of passion.

'Oh, that will come soon enough,' Harry answered silently, smirking around the vast flesh in his mouth.

Draco growled and tried to respond, but realized that he'd fully shifted without feeling it. He was so wrapped up in the fascination of Harry's mind and the amazing heat of his mouth that he'd shifted without pain for the first time since his first full moon as a werewolf. It was incredible and he wondered briefly if it would always be so seamless now. Now that he had his Mate. Now that he belonged.

'You're mine," Draco purred across Harry's mind, and Harry answered with a particularly hard suck, his tongue massaging the throbbing vein along Draco's prick. "Enough," Draco growled, his body vibrating with pent up energy. He was afraid of coming before he was able to knot his lover's delicious arse. Harry's mouth was just so damned talented his orgasm might sneak up on him as quickly as his wolf had.

He pulled out of Harry's mouth with a vulgar pop and pulled him to his lips, tasting himself on his Mate's tongue. Harry was right. He did taste different. But then so did Harry. As if even their flavors had melded as perfectly as their minds. "Shift," he demanded in a short, huffing growl. He wanted to see his lover's wolf, wanted to feel his dark fur brushing against him, knowing it was Harry this time. Knowing it was his Mate.

Harry stood gracefully, his verdant eyes locked on Draco the entire time. His smirking lips changed first, his face elongating into the dark muzzle of his wolf, his hair growing fast and wild as it spread across his shoulders and down his back. His entire body made sharp popping sounds as his shape seems to expand and compact all at once, but there was no pain on Harry's face and their connection confirmed he felt none. It was miraculous. Their connection was clearly a strong one if just their proximity could ease the pain of shifting. He wondered briefly if Wolfsbane would even be necessary for them to maintain their personalities during the full moon anymore.

Before him stood Harry's wolf, dark, strong and as beautiful as he'd remembered in the forest. But this time it was different. With the knowledge that this wolf belonged to him, and he to the wolf, he knew it was impossible to think this perfect creature could have ever been mistaken for Alec.

'You. Are. Perfection,' Draco purred through Harry's mind, feeling, even if he couldn't see it, Harry flushing at the praise. He suddenly realized that for the first time since he contracted the Lupine disease; that he didn't hate what he was, because he could never hate what Harry had become. What Draco had made him. Harry was beauty and darkness and grace and there was nothing but love in Draco's heart for him.

Harry moved in a circle, slowly showing his form off to Draco's hungry gaze before turning to face the wall, falling on all fours. Ready.

Draco draped over Harry and drove him down until his chest was pressed flush to the ground, his arse arched high, presenting himself like a precious gift. And it was. It was a gift Draco hoped to never squander. The blunt edge of his cock nudged against the tight ring of Harry's entrance, pulling a keening whimper from his Mate's throat as Draco mounted him and slowly, carefully pushed inside.

He knew he didn't have to treat Harry so carefully any longer. His lover was stronger now, powerful, perhaps even more powerful than Draco, but he was so used to treating Harry's body like fine china that continued to do so now, even when his cock was screaming to be shoved fully inside Harry's waiting heat.

When he was fully seated, his knot resting comfortably against Harry's pert arse, he paused and reveled in the feeling of pure desire floating from both of their minds before sliding out and slowly pushing back inside.

Draco went slowly at first, setting a languid rhythm that drove his knot against Harry's arse, but not inside. He pushed harder, faster with each thrust, jackhammering Harry's tight bundle of nerves, his cock easily grinding a path through his Mate's tight heat. Harry's growling moans drove him on, his amazing arse grinding backward to meet every single one of Draco's powerful thrusts. He could feel his knot edging further past the tight ring of muscle with each snap of his hips as he pulled fully out and then slammed back into Harry's perfect heat.

His claws bit into Harry's hips, marking him, holding him still for that final thrust. With a howl, Draco slammed forward one last time, burying his cock into Harry and felt his knot fully breach him, the engorged flesh entirely surrounded by delicious warmth as his Mate's walls clamped down around him, instinctively sealing Draco's enormous cock inside of him.

The pressure surrounding him was amazing, and Harry's mind became a mass jumble of need and pain and love and ecstasy. Harry tried to pull off, but they were locked together and Draco leaned in, draping his body over Harry's prone form, driving that extra inch deeper still as he bit hard and possessively into the back of his Mate's neck, trying to subdue him. When he felt Harry calm, his body growing accustomed to the large knot and the powerful length inside of him, Draco released his hold and gently rocked inside of Harry's incredible tightness.

Draco pulled back, feeling the base of his knot nudging against Harry's walls from the inside and let out a guttural groan as he slammed back in. When he pulled out again, his knot popped free and Harry whimpered, grinding backward, begging for it all over again. 'Draco…yes….fuck…it feels so good,' he moaned inside Draco's mind, coaxing Draco to thrust deep again, burying it all inside of him once more, every inch of his shaft, the entirety of his swollen knot, was deep inside of Harry and plugging him like a Firewhiskey cork.

Draco knew he couldn't last much longer. His whole body vibrated with the need to come inside of his Mate, to mark him, to own him. As Harry's walls tightened even further around him, Draco finally tipped over the edge, his seed exploding in long, hot jets inside his Mate's perfect arse. He clung to Harry as he rocked through his orgasm, moans, growls and whimpers all mingled together and echoing around them in the empty stone room. His knot pulsed and emptied inside of Harry, filling him to the brim with Draco's release, but he couldn't pull back out once he was spent. His knot was still swollen and stuck within his lover's tight embrace.

His breathing heavy, Draco collapsed against Harry, feeling his heart rate slowly start to recede to a normal level as they both rolled to lie in a heap on the cool floor, still locked tightly together. 'I'll shift back in a minute and let you go,' Draco breathed through Harry's mind, but his Mate shook his head.

'No. Don't. I like you this way,' Harry admitted softly, giving Draco's a firm squeeze that somehow milked even more seed from his spent cock.

So Draco stayed and held Harry, stroking his pale claws through Harry's wild ebony fur until he felt his knot subside and his cock fell free of Harry's abused hole. He felt the ripple of fur beneath his hands recede as Harry soundlessly returned to his human form, Draco following suit a moment later. "Alright, Harry?" Draco whispered against the shell of his lover's ear.

"Better than alright," Harry admitted, their bodies still melded perfectly together until the vibration of Harry's laugh made Draco prop up to stare at his lovely Gryffindor in confusion.

"What's so amusing?" he asked, slightly ruffled at the idea of Harry laughing at a personal joke he hadn't been privy to.

"It's just…" Harry began, but couldn't seem to stop chuckling. "We sort of….got married before we even told anyone we were dating."

Draco smiled, feeling his heart race all over again. They were bonded. Married. Mates. However anyone wanted to put it, there was nothing that could ever separate them now. "We sort of did. I suppose it's good that my blood taint disinherited me from my family name, because this surely would have."

"I would love to be there when your father finds out that you've Mated with me," Harry replied, his voice possessive and protective all at once. It warmed Draco to his core and gave him an idea.

"I believe The Daily Prophet still prints wedding announcements," he suggested with a wicked grin.

Harry blinked and then a similar smirk formed across his lips. "You want him to find out through the paper? Maybe…maybe we should tell everyone that way."

"I thought you'd want to tell Granger and Weasley…." Draco began, but Harry only smiled and held him tight.

"They'll hear it from me first. Hermione already knows, which means Ron won't be far behind anyway. But everyone else…they can read about it in the papers and speculate all they want. We won't have to say another word about it."

Draco thought Harry was mad if he honestly thought that, but nodded. He found he didn't really mind the idea of telling the world that he belonged to Harry or that he was in love with him, or that he planned to spend the rest of his life at his Mate's side.

"I don't mind telling everyone that either," Harry whispered, reminding Draco that their minds were still inexorably connected. Draco thought briefly of resuming his shield, but decided that would be a rather pointless waste of energy. They were bound now. Draco had no need to protect his thoughts from Harry. "I plan to tell them as soon as I can walk again."

Draco chuckled. "Now you know how I felt the other night."

"To be fair, that might have more to do with your fighting me and injuring your leg," Harry pointed out with a teasing smile.

"I thought you were Alec," Draco grumbled, watching as Harry's eyes and thoughts grew slightly dark at the name. "I've already spoken to him," he whispered, allowing Harry to see the memory play through his head and he felt Harry relax.

"So long as he understands his mistake…." his lover grumbled and slowly released the angry feelings boiling inside of him. "Next full moon we should go running with him."

Smiling, Draco ran his fingers through Harry's still messy hair. "I think he'd like that."

"Our kind have to stick together," Harry murmured.

"Our kind," Draco repeated, tightening his hold on Harry. He never thought he'd find a way to belong anywhere after he changed. But now, with Harry in his arms – his Mate, his lover, his gentleman, his wolf – Draco felt at peace, knowing now that he was fated for this life, and that being a werewolf would make him happier than he'd ever been as a Malfoy.

FIN

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: And that's the end for these two. No more sequels. (Sorry) However, if you miss Draco and Harry the werewolves...you might like the addition to Twisted Faerie Tales I'm working on right now. I'm not sure I want to be known solely for werewolf smut, however...so I might post something else first *Winks* Hope you all enjoyed the journey.

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note: Little white Draco werewolf plushies to all who review.


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